Strength
by WildFireBurnsTheForest
Summary: Danny, Sam, and Tucker's class takes a field trip to the Ghost Zone with Lancer, Maddie, and Jack. No one knows what to expect of the zone except our favorite trio. Can the class survive when Skulker strands them deep within the Ghost Zone? Sure. But can Danny crawl out of this with his secret still intact and everyone alive? What about the other secrets he's hiding? Somewhat AU.
1. Chapter 1

_**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, lyrics, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plots are the intellectual property of the author(s). The author(s) is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended, nor should any be inferred. No profit is being made.**_

_**I understand that this is an idea that has been used before, so please do not remind me of that. From all of the ones that I have read (and reread to make sure I wasn't plagiarizing) are not the same as this one. **_

_**Yes, this idea has been used more than once so I feel I am allowed to write this. **_

_**I understand that, for those who read it, there was another story I posted that was extremely to another story. Survival had been a mistake on my part and of a friend of mine. She had come to me with the idea and we began cooking up ideas. Unbeknownst to me, she had found the story (Stranded with My Class for anyone who wants to know) a bit ago and wanted to rewrite it in our own words. Unfortunately for me, I had also read the story a few months back and had a lot of the story hiding in the back of my mind that aided in the supply of my ideas. **_

_**I wish to apologize to the author, if they ever (miraculously) come across this story (or my profile) for exploiting your idea. There have been other authors that have used the idea of the kids being stranded and whatnot, but none like yours and I had, unwittingly, used it to my advantage. I had received some, well-deserved, backlash for how similar my story was to yours and I feel absolutely horrid for the comparisons. **_

_**While mine was going to go in a different direction than yours after I posted the too-similar first chapter I did not feel justified enough to keep the story up anymore and was quick to pull it back down. I have not forgone the idea completely, but I am trying to keep it in my thoughts and not an echo of yours. **_

_**An example would be the theme song. While I didn't use the same song or band (Even though Forever the Sickest Band is awesome and a band I didn't know existed until I read your story) I still brought some sort of theme song in there for a series that was appearing in the story. **_

_**And as I end this long-winded author's note, to anyone actually reading this and not just skipping right to the story. I do know that this isn't a completely original concept, but I have tried to keep it as mine as possible, so, please, no flames.**_

_**Not Beta'd**_

* * *

"Lancer is kidding, right Danny?" Sam mumbled as she stared up at the teacher. Their original science teacher was on vacation right now, so it was up to Mr. Lancer to be the substitute. He had just informed them that they were going to take a field trip into the ghost zone.

"I can only hope so, Sam. Neither mom nor dad have actually been _in_ the ghost zone so they wouldn't take a classroom full of students into the unknown, right?" His reasoning sounded dull even to his ears.

"Dude, this is your parents we are talking about. Of course they would." Tucker, ever the helpful, reminded him as he leaned back in his chair. Danny just glared in response.

"They will be here after lunch to discuss the trip further, for now you are dismissed." Lancer called out just as the bell rang. Unfortunately for them, they had what was considered a block class, meaning they would go to their science class for a period, go to lunch for a period, and right back to science for the second half of class. Most schools found this way to be unconventional, but when was Casper high ever like the other schools?

Sam stood and packed her binders into her spider backpack as Danny flipped his sketchbook to the front and put his pencils in their container.

"So what were you working on today?" Tuck asked once he noticed the sketchbook. Danny shrugged.

"Just simply doodling you guys." He mumbled as he gently placed his sketchbook in his purple backpack.

"Do we get to see?" Sam asked eagerly. She always loved to see what Danny drew. He was constantly embarrassed and humbled when Sam and Tucker would praise him for his art, which Sam found annoyingly adorable. The only people that knew Danny loved to draw were Sam, Tuck, and Jazz. That didn't mean others didn't _see _his art. It was everywhere, in fact.

Because Danny was painfully shy about people knowing he drew, he sold his art under a different name. Neil Fathom's paintings, drawings, and sculptures were proudly displayed around town, much to Danny's dismay. He was happy people liked and bought his artwork—because it meant he actually had money in his pockets—but he hated seeing it everywhere. Even the school had a few of his pieces scattered around town. Students were constantly crowing about the newest 'Neil Fathom' they bought and it really bothered Danny. Sam and Tucker found it both amusing and sad.

Everywhere they went people were constantly talking about either Neil Fathom or Danny Phantom, but no one knew they were both the same person—Danny Fenton. Danny liked it that way, but Sam and Tuck were angered by the way people treated the different faces of Danny.

The people of Amity Park either worshipped or hated Phantom and obsessed over Fathom's artwork. But when they thought of Fenton, they all thought he was a pathetic, trouble kid with no future. If only they knew.

"Maybe, but I haven't decided if I want to just scrap this piece or not. In all honesty I really need to start working on more that can be sold." Danny mumbled as they walked out the classroom, Mr. Lancer following silently behind. They had been the last of the students in his room. Normally Lancer didn't have anything to do this period—planning period—but today they put him on lunch duty like the science teacher usually had.

"I thought you already had quite a few done." Tuck pointed out as they walked down the halls, their voices almost being completely drowned out by the dull roar of so many students talking over one another.

"Yeah, but Matt says he already had more people lined up than usual so he wants me to make an extra abundance. Plus Uncle Neil wants to sell some at his auction, which you both are invited to." Sam giggled.

"So how does it feel, man? You're famous!" Lancer's eyes widened as Danny scowled.

"No, Tuck. _I'm_ not famous. _Neil Fathom_ is. Big difference, you know." Tuck just snorted.

"That's one in the same, dude. Just because your real name isn't scribbled at the bottom of those pieces of art doesn't mean it isn't you." Lancer just stopped, right there in the middle of the halls.

_What?_

Lancer could not have heard that right. As Lancer watched the trio stop at their lockers before starting towards the cafeteria, Lancer decided that he would begin observing the three a little more closely. The three were always so secretive that most of the school had taken an interest on trying to crack the three, but it seemed impossible.

The bonds the three of them shared baffled Lancer. They were too young to have such a close relationship amongst each other, and yet they could just look at each other from across the room—no mouthing words or facial expressions—and you _knew_ they were holding an entire conversation with their eyes. And that was just between Tuck and Danny or Tuck and Sam! Sam and Danny didn't even have to look at one another! But they were constantly calling out the same thing in class or writing the same thing on tests. Lancer had purposely sat them far away from each other during one test, believing they had cheated on their previous, and was astounded when they _still_ gave the same answers.

Lancer, who was privy to all the idle adolescent gossip that floated around his halls, had heard rumors that the two shared some sort of psychic link. At first Lancer had dismissed it as impossible, but before this year he hadn't believed ghosts to exist either.

He remembered hearing stories from past teachers of the infamous trio. They were so varied. Some would talk about how bright they all were, straight a's! They would talk about how bright Danny was and how ambitious Sam was and how intelligent Tucker was. The three were these teacher's pets.

But then there were teachers that considered Danny and Sam swans of the devil, out to steal Tucker's soul. They would say that the two were evil and worshipped the devil. Those were the teachers that Lancer seemingly loved the 'A-listers'.

And then there was the bullying. Reports that went back all the way to kindergarten talked about how Danny got bullied by his peers. Dash, Kwan, and Gillian were the three main bullies that appeared throughout the years.

Lancer could only keep so much of an eye on so many different students.

* * *

"So, can we see the sketch yet?" Tuck begged as they sat down at their usual tree. The weather had been colder than usual lately and it was one of the few days that the sun was shinning. With the doors unlocked to the plaza all students of Casper High were taking advantage of the fresh air, even if it meant wearing heavy jackets just to eat. Danny, Sam, and Tucker always chose the tree farthest away from the school. It was hidden behind an overgrown bush, giving the trio the much needed privacy they needed.

And while it didn't have a bench or a chair, the trio did have a plastic blanket tied up in the tree that they used to sit on when the ground was wet or covered in snow.

"Fine." Danny grumbled as he set his soda down on his tray. He stretched back against the tree as he pulled his sketchbook out and flipped through the pages. Sam and Tucker took note of the newest edition that Danny had done with impressed expressions.

"You could publish this one!" Sam exclaimed, pointing to a pencil drawing of a field of blood blossoms with a boy on his knees in a small opening in the center. He was bent forward and had his hands covering the back of his neck.

"I don't know, it's kinds personal." Tuck just stared at Danny.

"Dude, _all_ the artwork you publish is personal." Danny blushed but nodded.

"I'll think about it." They knew that was the best they would get out of him. As they leafed through, they were aware of several pictures of themselves floating around half-done. Some of the drawings were actually on the sketchbook's paper, but most on pieces of loose leaf that had been jammed in to the book. There were some of Sam or Tucker sleeping in their rooms, some of them were of them playing video games or hanging out at the mall while others were during movie nights at Sam's house or when they were studying. There were even a few of them fighting random ghosts.

"Nice to know we inspire you, dude." Tuck teased as they flipped through more. He must have been really busy drawing lately, there were more than usual. Some were of Jazz in various locations reading a book and even some of Danielle. And even a few of his Uncle Neil.

His uncle… Daniel Fitzgerald was his mother's brother and who Danny was named after. He was younger than Maddie by almost nine years, but had inherited the family fortune when Maddie decided to become a scientist instead of running the Fitzgerald Company. To everyone but the trio, his name is Dan Fitzgerald. But with the bad memories that go with the name 'Dan' Danny opted to renaming him Neil, much to Neil's distaste. He never tried to stop Danny from calling him that, though.

When Danny and Sam were in elementary the kids would tease them about a link they had developed after a freak accident in the Fenton's lab. The kid's teasing was manageable while the adults would scream and call them demonic spawns from hell. They hadn't understood that not everyone had this link, and had tried to talk to Neil about it, but that backfired. Neil had been a heavy drinker when he was in his twenties and had freaked out at Danny and Sam's confession.

He already resented Maddie for taking ghost hunting over the family business, but now their son had a freaky link to another child? That had been the last straw for Neil's intoxicated mind. He barely remembered that night, but Danny and Sam could recall everything, down to what they had been wearing.

He had screamed and yelled at the two children, calling them every name under the sun. It had destroyed Danny's already pathetic self-esteem and infuriated Sam. But above all else, they had been betrayed and hurt. Neil had always been the one person they could talk to no matter what, but instead of helping them, he shattered them. After that the two refused to talk to anyone but each other and learned to hide the link they had.

The link allowed them to have access to the other's emotions and thoughts on the least invasive level possible, but after Danny's accident with the portal, their link had been growing stronger, much to their discomfort. But they had learned how to hide the link from everyone but Tucker and that was enough for them. Tucker was never bothered that they had a link, but he was quick to point out when they were going too far. He didn't want them to get caught, after all.

Before, their parents would have brushed it off to nothing but them just being in tune with one another's body language, but now with the reality of ghosts, they were afraid of Danny's parents trying to experiment on them to find out how they got the link.

Years later, Neil—fresh out of rehab—had come back to Amity Park and begged for forgiveness from Danny and Sam, unbeknownst to Danny's parents. Danny had forgiven him easily, Sam not so much.

He lived in a mansion on the outskirts of the city and was constantly trying to get Danny to come to various parties and fundraisers that he held.

"Do you know how much Neil wants to sell your pieces for?" Sam interrupted his thoughts loudly, causing him to jump.

"I don't know. He said it all depends on the size and detail I manage to put in it. I promised him first pick of the pieces and whatever he doesn't take, I hand over to Matt. Because he's selling my pieces, Neil is forcing me to come to the auction and I'm _begging_ you two to please come with me." Sam and Tucker looked at each other in amusement.

"Dude, both of our parents have already received invitations about a month ago, we were just wondering when you would invite us." Tucker informed, pulling out his copy of the invitation. Sam snickered when Danny scowled.

"So does this mean you'll come?" Danny asked, pulling his best puppy dog eyes on his best friends. They were left powerless.

"Oh, come on man! Not the puppy eyes!" Danny's already wide blue eyes widened even more as he stared at Sam and Tuck.

"FINE!" They both screamed in unison, giggling when Danny jumped up and hugged them both.

"And this is why you two are the best people in the entire world!" Tucker pretended to be disgusted by his show of affection, but in all honesty he was really happy to see his best friend happy about something.

"Oh, and Neil gave me his card for us to get new outfits for this. So we've got to get the mall with Jazz after school to find something…" Sam and Tucker groaned at Danny as he ran off to throw their lunches away.

"I get that he doesn't want to go alone with Jazz, but did he really have to drag us into it?" Sam cried. Tucker sighed.

"I guess so." They were quiet as they watched Danny race back over them, dodging random pieces of food and other object that would be thrown his way courtesy of the various jocks that found it fun to pick on the freshman.

Once Danny sat down between the two again, they began to look through the sketchbook. While Danny always let them see all the sketches, they didn't want to look without him there just in case he didn't want them to see one. Some respect was due for something Danny was already so shy about.

None of them notice to Maddie sneaking up behind them. She just stood there observing them.

Contrary to popular belief, Maddie Fenton wasn't oblivious. Sure, sometimes she would get a little caught up in her work to notice at times, but she still saw. Like right now, she noticed how far Danny and his friends were from everyone else in the school yard. There was a good ten to fifteen feet between the trio and the other kids. She had learned that Danny often had troubles with bullies after a conference with Mr. Lancer and wondered if that was why Danny's grades were slipping.

It would explain a lot of things. The bruises, the lack of sleep, the dread at going to school, the sleeping in class, the leaving class suddenly, the missing homework, all of it. At first, Maddie had reasoned that if there was something big like that going on in Danny's life, he would come to her, but now she wasn't so sure. What happened to the little boy that would come to her with anything that was on his mind?

"That's the third time this week." Tuck exclaimed cryptically, or at least to Maddie it was. Sam and Danny just sighed and stared down at a pear that Danny had brought Sam over. Was there something wrong with the pear? Maddie's eyes widened. Did a ghost touch it? She shook her head. She needed to focus more on her son right now.

As they flipped through the—now confirmed—sketchbook, Maddie was vaguely impressed with her son's abilities. Some of them were strange and random, like the one of the little girl that looked a lot like Danny, or a floating field of Blood blossoms, but they were all really pretty.

Maddie couldn't see their faces, but with how Danny was leaning heavily against Tucker, she guessed he was starting to fall asleep as Sam and Tucker silently flipped through, pointing out different details to one another.

"You can come out at any moment, you know!" Danny suddenly called out, sitting up straight. Maddie's eyes widened. She barely made a noise! How did Danny know she was there? Slowly she stepped out from behind the tree and walked in front of her son, who looked a bit surprised, but a lot angry.

"Why were you spying on us?" He demanded as he shoved the sketchbook back into his backpack.

"I was just wondering what you three were doing." She tried to lie. She could tell that none of them actually believed her and was ready to come up with a better lie when they just _dropped_ it. Since when did teenagers do that?

"Shouldn't you be talking to Mr. Lancer about this ill thought-out plan for us to visit the ghost zone?" He asked sharply. Maddie was a bit taken aback by his tone, but then again he did just catch her spying on him.

"Your father is taking care of it. I actually got lost looking for the room and decided to come out here to see if I could find you or your sister." Danny rolled his eyes.

"Jazz eats lunch in the library with her friends." He mumbled as he got up before turning and pulling Sam and Tuck up.

"We'll take you to Mr. Lancer's. It's almost time for the bell to ring and this way we'll be able to beat most of the crowd." Sam told her as she grabbed her spider backpack before Tuck quickly jumped up in the tree and tied the blanket they had been sitting in on one of the tree branches. He jumped down easily and grabbed his bookbag out of Danny's hands.

Maddie just watched this all, taking everything in as Danny stole Sam's pear and took a bite, a bit of juice running down his chin. Just as Maddie was about to step forward and wipe it off Tucker handed Danny a napkin and joked about him being a messy eater.

"This is coming from the slob_ master_." Danny had teased back Tucker just pushed him into Sam before stealing his own bite of the pear. Sam rolled her eyes before snatching her pear back, taking a bite and throwing it into the garbage can as they passed, all in one fluid motion.

"I'm the one that actually wanted the pear, not you two." She grumbled goodheartedly as Danny just wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

"Yeah, and it's not like we don't share our cravings or anything." He teased as Tucker sneakily took a picture of the two.

"Trust me, I know. If I get another craving for the putrid triple stack bacon kind burger from Nasty Burger _one more time_ I'm ripping Sandra piece by piece." Tucker yelped and held his PDA close to his chest.

"Hey, it's not like it's _my_ craving." Tucker cried indignantly.

"Actually, Sam, I think that's yours. Have you been taking your iron like you're supposed to? You know if you don't take it, you start craving meat." Sam glanced around nervously.

"Me? Of _course_ I've been taking my iron every day like I'm supposed to." Danny frowned before fishing around his bookbag as they walked along the halls, Maddie trailing behind them. They stopped when they reached a locker and Tucker opened it. Maddie thought it was Tucker's at first, but if the rocket ships were anything to go by, it was definitely her son's.

Danny handed Tucker a couple of books before reaching back into her bookbag and pulling out a bottle of pills and an energy drink.

"You can either grab my wallet and get yourself a soda, or drink this. No matter what, you're taking that iron." Danny instructed as he got into his locker, Tucker was busy opening his. Sam muttered something under her breath about Danny bossing her around before pulling out a pill and opening the drink.

"This thing smells horrible." She complained. Danny shrugged.

"It tastes horrible too, but it wakes me up." Tucker snorted.

"Dude, a _cookie_ gives you a sugar rush." Danny rolled his eyes before pulling a worn out black binder out and stuffed it into bag before closing his locker.

Maddie watched as Sam quickly took the iron supplement and handing the drink back to Danny, who capped it and stuffed it back in his bag before pulling his wallet out of his pocket, the chain that it was hooked to rattle against his jeans.

"Do you want a drink, mom?" Danny asked as he walked across the hall to a vending machine that two teens were heavily making-out on. Maddie made a face at them before nodded.

"That would be nice, sweetie." He nodded before shoving the couple—Jake and Lana he said—off of the vending machine and teased them to get a room.

"Normally I wouldn't condone it, for we all know Lana is blinded by Jake's alleged _charming_ personality, but you two seriously need to stop before you do something _none_ of us want to see." Maddie watched as Jake just shook his head with a smile while Lana stuck her tongue out.

"Wait till you and Danny stop being so oblivious, I bet you two won't be able to keep your hands off one another. Heck, you already have a hard time right now and you aren't even dating!" Lana called back, smirking when Danny and Sam blushed and stepped away from one another.

"We aren't into each other!" Sam complained as Danny got Sam and Maddie drinks. Tucker had just stolen one of the energy drink s from Danny's backpack and the two boys were splitting it.

"So is this your mother?" Lana asked suddenly as they all began walking to the science lab. Danny nodded and looked back at Maddie.

"Lana, Jake this is Dr. Mrs. Maddie Fenton, mom this is Jake and Lana. I've known them since before Sam." Maddie's eyes widened. Danny didn't talk much about the times before Sam. Granted he met Sam in the middle of first grade, the years before that was hell for Danny who was constantly teased for what his parents did and who his sister was.

"Yeah, and they've pretty much been inseparable since they pre k." Danny mumbled as everyone's minds crept back to a time before Sam. Sure, Tuck and Sam hadn't really been there the first time it happened, but during one of their fights against another ghost, they had been sucked into his memories of when he was only in kindergarten and they were horrified that even the teacher treated Danny like he was beneath them all. Tucker and Sam had been thoroughly disgusted at the school, but knew there wasn't anything they could do about it now.

But they all three did volunteer to read to the younger kids whenever they had the chance.

"They're rumored to be the ones that will win 'Most likely to stay together after high school.'" Sam teased as she unconsciously took a step closer to a quiet Danny.

"Just like you and Danny have been given the title 'Cutest non-couple couple.' since middle school." Jake shot back as he held Lana tight.

"Well, here we are!" Tucker called out, skipping ahead to where Mr. Lancer and Jack were talking.

"We'll see you in a bit." Lana called as Jake tugged her out by her hand, an impish grin on his face. Maddie frowned.

"Shouldn't we do something? I know you children think it's okay, but if they aren't using protection—" Maddie was cut off by Danny's embarrassed groan.

"Mom, chill. Jake and Lana are some of the most responsible people we know. Jake is the result of a—ah, rape and Lana is the result of an unwanted teenage pregnancy that was dropped off at the first doorstep available. They're also the presidents of the celibacy club and are often preaching abstinence." Maddie felt a bit better.

"They just like to mess with teachers and other adults that they're messing around, just to ruffle their feathers." Maddie didn't like that.

"They're good people, Mrs. F." Sam murmured as they all took their seat in the front of the room. The three of them shared a lab together so it was easy for them to get done with projects quickly and for Danny to get a quick nap in. "We don't consider each other friends, but they're some of the only pure hearts left in this school." Danny nodded as he leaned back in his chair.

"They're what we call neutrals in this school. They aren't at the bottom of the food chain of the social hierarchy but they aren't near the top either. They're overall liked and aren't messed with." Maddie was learning more about her son and his friends than she had since he was six! Maddie opened his mouth to ask something else when the bell rang, signifying lunch was over. Lancer called Maddie over to help discuss the trip, leaving the trio be.

* * *

"So how is this going to work for us?" Tuck asked Danny as they sat at their desk. Maddie had just left them and they were now stuck trying to figure things out.

"We'll have to pack some gear, I'm the last ditch effort. Other than that, there isn't much we _can_ do. Tucker, you'll have to make sure you have the map downloaded on Sandra and each of us need to bring our thermoses along with the phones." Tuck and Sam nodded, serious expressions on their faces as Danny doled out his instructions.

Sam and Tucker had thought it was amusing at first how easily Danny could fall into the role as the leader, but it was times like this when they were grateful. If it wasn't for Danny's often quick thinking, they probably wouldn't be here today.

"With any luck, we'll stay clear away from Walker's prison and stay in neutral territory." Sam nodded.

"I'll bring the anti-creep stick you have me constantly carry around." Danny nodded. It wasn't much like the baseball bat, though. Danny suggested they made a creep-stick the retracted. It was a lot like a light saber for ghosts, but also turned into a metal stick for defending against human attackers. It was simple and small enough for Sam to strap to her thigh and keep with her at all times. It made Danny feel a bit safe when she had it.

"Good, you've gotten pretty awesome at is. Bring some of those specter reflectors as well. If worse comes to worse, we'll attach them to some of the students so it'll be harder for the ghosts to touch them." Tucker liked that idea.

"We should bring the ghost fisher along with the Jack O' nine tails." Tucker added. Danny nodded, figuring out where they would place everything in each of their backpacks.

"And the boo-merang just in case we lose Danny." Sam suggested.

"That thing is still locked onto me." Sam just giggled and pawed at Danny's unruly hair. Danny just stuck his tongue out before messing his hair up even more.

"Wrist rays as well, dude." Danny nodded.

"I think we should be good with all of that." Sam and Tucker agreed, hoping they were right.

* * *

"Alright, so the trip will be Saturday around two. This counts as a grade so attendance is _mandatory_." Danny walked back in from his 'bathroom break' as Mr. Lancer finished his lecture on proper safety during the trip. Sam and Tucker looked amused; causing Danny to guess he did have a clue what he was talking about.

"Who was it?" Sam whispered as Danny sat down close to her. Tucker subtly leaned closer to him to listen in as he played on his PDA. They already knew more about the safety measures than the adults knew.

"Just the box ghost, but the lunch lady surprised me and smacked me upside the head with her spatula." Danny rested his head gently on the table. He was nursing a serious headache right now. Sam began weaving her fingers through Danny's hair as Maddie and Jack continued to answer any questions the students had.

"Danny!" Maddie's sharp voice rang out, causing the teen to jump up from his mid slumber and almost fall out of his seat. Fortunately with Sam and Tuck on either side of him, he was able to stay in his chair.

"Yes, mother?" He asked blearily. Sam frowned. He was acting like he had a concussion. Fortunately those only lasted about an hour before passing on.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Danny scowled at the nickname but nodded.

"M'm just tird." He slurred out. Tuck pulled the energy drink off the table and handed Danny the liquid.

"You went to bed early last night." Jack stated in usual confusion. Sam sighed.

"We were skyping most of the night. He needed help on a paper due and I wanted to go over the notes with him. We were up pretty late." Sam covered for him. Someone in the back snickered.

"Yeah, _notes_. I bet that's not all they went over last night." Sam was barely able to keep Danny from turning around and flashing his eyes at the jock in the back. The last thing they needed was for Danny's temper to get the best of him while his parents were there.

"Excuse you." Maddie hissed out. Mr. Lancer began writing out two detention slips.

"Daniel, you have detention for sleeping in class, and Gillian you have detention for inappropriate attitude in class." Lancer watched Danny close as he just closed his eyes for a moment before sighing and taking the pink slip.

"Okay, Mr. Lancer." He said softly as he slumped lower in his seat as both his parents sent him disapproving glares.

Sam rubbed his back gently as Tuck placed a hand no his shoulder.

For some reason Lancer felt horrible for dishing out a deserved detention. Every other teacher seemed to enjoy giving Daniel these pink slips, but as Lancer observed Danny's sullen face and the looks of sympathy his friends gave him, Lancer got the feeling he was missing something.

But what could it be?

* * *

Danny sighed as he leaned against his locker while Sam and Tucker finished getting everything they needed out of their lockers.

"Did you see the looks my parents were giving me?" Danny whispered, looking down at his shoes. "They looked so disappointed and ashamed of me." Jack froze as he walked past his son, unknowing to the trio. He quickly ducked over to the side of the lockers and tried his hardest to listen in.

"Dude, they aren't ashamed or disappointed in you!" Tuck cried out, turning to face his best friend.

"Sure, they might be a little angry at you, but I'm pretty sure they'll be over it by the time a new invention pops into their mind." Jack frowned when Danny just sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He actually looked upset that he got in trouble today.

"No, they won't get over it. Sure, they'll forget about it when a new idea comes to them, but not because their anger will pass. Just like with anything else in my life, they'll just shove it to the side and get to it whenever they find it convenient." Jack's eyebrows bunched up together. Was that really how Danny felt?

"I know I should be thankful for that, all things considered, but it still hurts at times that they always, _always _push me to the side." Danny paused. "Aw, man. Look at me complaining again. I'm sorry guys." Jack watched as Sam frowned and looked over at Danny.

"Why should you apologize? With everything you do for this ungrateful town, I would like to think that a little complaining is allowed." Danny shook his head.

"No, it isn't. Your parents are rarely there and here I am complaining about mine. And you guys keep getting dragged into my problems and it affects your guys' lives too much." Sam moved in front of him and stood directly under him. It was the first time Jack really noticed how tall his son was getting. He was almost a head taller than Sam already and he was still fifteen!

Sam pushed her forehead against his gently and stared into his sullen eyes.

"You listen to me, and you listen to me well Fenton." Sam hissed out, causing Jack's eyes to widen. Tuck just snapped a picture of the two before leaning against his locker and watching them. He knew Sam would be able to handle their depressed friend better than he ever could.

"Don't you dare start blaming yourself for all this crap." She ground out. "You have to deal with so much more than me and Tucker. I wish there was more of a way for me—for _us_—to help you, but we can only do as much as you'll let us. We are the ones that decided to get into this; you did not drag us anywhere." Tucker was nodding along the entire time.

"I know you feel as though you're to blame for us having to deal with what we do, but it was _our _decision to do this, not yours. So you don't get to blame yourself anymore for this. We both love you very much and will be here no matter what happens with your parents." Tucker added, stepping closer to his best friends. Danny looked between them both before sighing and nodded.

"I love you guys too, you know that right?" Tucker snorted and pulled the two into a huge group hug.

"Of course we do man." Sam nodded.

"Just remember we love you too, dofus." He nodded before swinging an arm around each other their shoulders.

"Come on, I'll walk you out. I still have that detention to serve for Lancer." Each of his friends threw an arm around his waist before they walked down the empty halls in sync. Jack Fenton stepped out from behind the lockers with a somber face.

How was it that Danny hurt and his own parents didn't notice? It didn't make any sense? Hadn't they given him enough love and attention? Jack walked over to Lancer's office where his wife and Danny's teacher were waiting for the two Fenton men.

Maddie wanted to lecture and yell at Danny before she and Jack left to go out on a date, but now Jack felt guilty. Maybe there was more happening in Danny's life than he was letting on. Jack snorted. That was a given, but he just didn't know what it was. Once he got to the office, Jack beckoned his beautiful wife over before convincing her to leave earlier, that they could deal with Danny later and just let him deal with the detention for now.

Once they had reached the doors for outside, Jack watched from the corner of his eyes as Danny ran past them and towards Lancer's, though Jack knew Danny had recognized them. Danny had spun around for a moment to look at the two supposedly unsuspecting parents with a look full of so much regret and sadness, Jack wasn't able to wipe that from his memory.

There was something big going on in Danny's life, that much was for sure. But as to _what_ it was, Jack had a feeling he wasn't going to know anytime soon. But one thing was for sure, Jack deduced he would try and let up a little on his son. After seeing how Danny really felt, Jack just couldn't justify his past actions.

The one thing Jack knew for certain was that he _did_ love his son, and he was determined as hell that he was going to mend their relationship.

* * *

As Danny shuffled out of the school after another silent detention, he almost jumped into attack mode when he felt three pairs of arms wrap around him. Quickly recognizing that it was just his friends and sister, he had relaxed his tense stance and allowed himself to be hugged.

"I honestly hope you three did not wait after school for me." He grumbled once they let go. Noticing the guilty look on his sister's face and the too-innocent grins on his friends' he knew they had. He groaned.

"You guys can honestly do something without me, you know!" Tucker nodded and shrugged.

"Would it make you feel better if we said we had taken the time to finish our homework and go over some study guides?" Sam suggested. Danny smiled in relief. Lancer stood by the door unnoticed as the four stood at the front of the school talking.

"That's good, so did I. Fortunately Lancer let me turn it in early so I won't have to worry about anything happening to it between now and tomorrow." Tuck looked up from his PDA.

"Dude, maybe _you_ can explain to me why we have to learn about the civil war." Lancer blinked. Well that's an interesting note. Danny just stared while Jazz just groaned.

"I _tried _to explain to him that The Civil War is the central event in America's historical consciousness. While the Revolution of 1776-1783 created the United States, the Civil War of 1861-1865 determined what—" Danny cut his sister off by raising his hand, palm out. He had a lazy smile on his face.

"And, let me guess, Sam just bashed her head off the wall while you tried to explain this to Tuck, right?" Jazz nodded with a blush. Danny turned to his male best friend with a slightly amused expression. Tuck just looked expectant.

"Tuck, we have to learn about the civil war because it helped this country become what it is. It helped us get past the prejudice against your race, understood?" Tucker looked contemplative.

"So, like how most of the country is against same-sex marriage? Is it like the way people treat the LGBT community like they're second class citizen compared to any heterosexual individual?" Danny smiled proudly.

"But on an even more upscale battle. Fortunately for us, there hasn't been any war to come from this battle for LGBT rights, but in fifty years when same-sex marriage and all the rights that go with it, are legal cross-country our kids and grandkids will be reading about it in history class." Jazz groaned.

"How was it so easy for you to explain it to him, but when I pretty much said the same thing, he zoned out?" She cried out. Suddenly Danny glanced back at the teacher with an inquiring look for so short a time, Lancer believed he had missed it before answering his sister.

"Because, Spazz, you needed to simplify it to our level. We may be able to explain something at a more complicated and complex level, but a simple layout of anything will help us comprehend it and make it where we can draw our own connections and build on from there." Lancer blinked as Jazz pulled her younger brother into a sideways hug with a sigh as they turned to mall.

"Aren't I supposed to be the one teaching you things, not the other way around?" Whatever Danny said in reply was lost to Lancer's ears as they walked around the corner of the block. Lancer stared over at the empty spot for a while. He didn't break from his trance until a loud clap of thunder sounded overhead. He jumped when rain began to tumble from the sky and pelt him. Looking around, Lancer noticed that he must have stood there like an idiot for well over twenty minutes!

Racing to his car, Lancer couldn't get his mind off of his students.

He had remembered getting frustrated just earlier today when one of the kids hadn't understood the lecture he had been reciting that the teacher had kicked him out in irritation, believing the student had just been messing with him. Was this Danny's subtle way of trying to make him understand that maybe, just maybe, Lancer had been wrong?

_'You need to simplify it to our level.'_ Lancer sighed as he stared out at the rain from his car window.

_'A simple layout of anything will help us comprehend it.' _Lancer groaned. Sometimes he forgot these children were still that, children! Here he was trying to explain something in a manner he wasn't introduced to well into the eleventh grade! Of course the kid didn't understand! He highly doubted many of the students had understood much of what he was talking about.

_"Make it where we can draw our own connections and build on from there."_ Lancer mumbled along with Danny's echo.

"Daniel Julian Fenton." Lancer spoke to nothing in particular as he just stared down at the steering wheel. "When did you become such an enigma?"

* * *

"Great." Danny suddenly murmured as he sat in the dressing room with Tucker as Sam and Jazz tried on multiple dresses. Tucker looked up from his PDA long enough to take in Danny' s annoyed expression before gluing his eyes back down on Sharon.

"Dude, I told you they'd take forever." He mumbled as he killed another zombie. Fortunately he had convinced everyone to stop at Game Stop long enough for him to buy the newest Zombie Exterminator game before the two boys were dragged to womanly store after womanly store. Their next stop was new tuxes for both Danny and Tucker after their last ones got shredded to bits bye a ghost a couple of weeks ago.

"No, it's not that." Danny grumbled with a grimaced. "I would have even taken a ghost over this." Tuck scrunched his eyebrows at Danny's attitude.

"It's storming." He finally stated, staring up from his game, letting his character get killed by an onslaught of Zombies. His best friend was more important at the moment, anyways. Danny crossed his arms and nodded, refusing to look at Tuck.

"Quit that, dude." Tuck said as he purposely stared down at his game. "Just because a storm bothers you, does not mean you've got to go and get embarrassed by it." Danny just turned his head down, letting the bangs fall in front of his face. He hated it, but Danny was rather unsettled by thunderstorms. He wasn't afraid of them—that was Sam— but ever since he began getting hunted by ghosts, storms made him extra jumpy and paranoid.

"They just make me paranoid, you know Sam's the one afraid of thunderstorms and now she's going to have a heart attack once we get out of the mall." Tuck sighed and nodded.

"And with your parents already mad at you tonight, there's no way you're going to be able to get away with either staying at Sam's or Sam staying with you." Danny shrugged and stared ahead to where the changing rooms were. Tucker blinked as he tried to figure something out. Suddenly, he sat up straighter.

"I got it!" He exclaimed quietly. Danny's head whipped over to him for a moment, his head tilting adorably to the side like a puppy in silent wonder.

"Just have Jazz invite her over. They can tell your parents that Sam has to go to some dance because of her parents and needs Jazz's help because her parents are forcing her to be girly! It'll be the perfect cover-up." Danny raised his eyebrow with a small grin.

"Did I ever tell you that sometimes, you've got some good ideas?" Tuck grinned back before picking up his forgotten game with a simple shrug.

"Just admit it, you know I'm awesome." That drew a quiet chuckle from Danny's lips.

"If Sam and Jazz agree to it, but we'll ask them once we are in the food court, just in case the storm eases up." Tucker nodded before getting fully absorbed in his game.

Danny looked back over to the dressing rooms just as Sam and Jazz were opening their door. Danny smiled at their choices before elbowing Tucker to get his attention. He quickly paused his game before looking up and giving the girls a low wolf-whistle. They both blush, but grinned in satisfaction.

Sam was in a strapless black dress with a sweetheart neckline and a skirt that reached just past her knees with a smooth, silk, blue ribbon tied around her waist. She had a pair of simple flats on and her hair pulled up into a messy bun to keep it out of the way while she was trying on dresses.

Jazz had a complementary one-strapped white dress that reached mid-thigh that showed off her long, tan legs and had a thin emerald green ribbon that crisscrossed over her midsection. She had on a pair of shiny silver heals that gave her even more height than she already had.

"You two look wonderful." Danny complimented as they both stood up. Both Jazz and Sam spun in a rather girl manor to give the two friends a full view.

"Your legs definitely look stellar in those." Sam complimented Jazz as they both stood in front of the mirror, Danny and Tucker on either side of them.

"Oh, don't you two look gorgeous!" The four friends spun around to see one of the store employees standing behind them with tears in her eyes.

"What's the special occasion? I don't think there is any school event coming up—" Danny smiled over at her sweetly, causing the older woman to almost melt.

"No, ma'am, there isn't. Mine and Jazz's" He pointed to Jazz. "Uncle is throwing a dinner party and invited us all so here we are getting these two new dresses before heading off." Danny kept it simple and sweet. Sam watched in amusement as the woman smiled and nodded.

"Are these the outfits you've chosen?" She asked instantly, already going back into professional mode. Sam and Jazz looked at each other and nodded.

"Wonderful! If you wish I can show you some wonderful accessories that would go wonderfully with—" Sam cut her off.

"Oh, we've already gotten the jewelry covered." Jazz nodded in agreement. For their birthday presents, Danny had gotten them each a ring and a locket. Those, plus the Fenton phones, were the only accessories Jazz and Sam could bring themselves to ever wear.

"Oh, then are you two ready to check out?" They both looked over at Danny, who nodded. They quickly got dressed before heading over to the counter where Danny and the employee were flirting. Or rather, Danny was talking obliviously while the lady—in her mid-twenties—was trying desperately to flirt with the fifteen year old.

Once each girl stepped close to him, the lady produced an air of profession and quickly rung them up. Danny quickly paid and smiled as the card was accepted, silently thanking Neil for allowing them to get new outfits. Once the clothes were bagged, Danny took the bags and escorted the women, Tucker following behind like an obedient puppy after his masters, his eyes never leaving his game.

* * *

"So now that we have our outfits, how does a bite to eat at the Nasty Burger sound to you?" Sam asked as she skipped ahead while the others watched on in amusement. They had been able to quickly get their tuxes with only one interruption from Desiree before they were able to complete their purchase. Danny had quickly dealt with it before they had paid for their tuxes and booked it out of there before people got over their shock.

Danny frowned and shared a look with Tucker before stopping.

"How about we just get something from the food court?" Danny suggested. "I'm really craving some Chinese." Sam frowned. She hadn't gotten any cravings for him. She blinked and stood staring at him. In fact, she hadn't felt much at all from him over their link. Shopping had distracted her from the link she shared with Danny.

Now that she was focusing on the link she could tell that he was purposely blocking it. Without being able to tell through their link what was going on, she decided to look at his body language. After being his friend for almost a decade, she knew what to look for.

He was still, too still. He was hiding something from her that he knew she would pick up through the link.

"Danny." She stated simply, staring over at her best friend and secret love. "What are you hiding from me?" She demanded. Jazz looked between the two clueless while Tucker just stepped away. Danny sighed and looked out towards the doors.

Sam followed his eyes and jumped when there was a sudden flash outside. Her eyes widened. Thunderstorms were her biggest fear. She knew it was irrational to be so afraid of a storm, but it didn't stop her from flying over to Danny and standing close to him.

"You know what? Chinese sounds really good to me too." She yelped before dragging Danny away from the doors and towards the center of the mall where there weren't any windows anywhere near.

"Calm down Sam." Danny murmured as he sat down close to Sam, Tucker and Jazz sitting across from them at the booth. Danny placed the bags between the wall and Sam before pulling her close to him. She snuggled close and buried her face into his neck. Tucker grinned at Jazz before snapping a picture.

"What do you guys want?" Jazz asked, pulling Tuck up by his ear to give the two some peace.

"General Tso's for me and a vegetable medley for Sam." Danny said as he pulled his backpack onto the table and leafed around for his sketchbook and pencils.

* * *

"Is she going to be okay?" Jazz asked once she and Tucker were out of earshot—or so they thought. Sometimes they forgot that Danny had hypersensitive hearing.

"Yeah, she'll be fine in a bit. Danny is good at taking care of her. But there is something I need to ask you. If we were to ask you in front of Sam, she'd go defensive and get mad at us." Jazz stood in line while Tucker eyed the two warily.

"What do you need?" She asked hesitantly.

"We need you to convince your parents to let Sam stay the night with you guys so she and Danny can stay together tonight. Usually he'd stay at hers but because of the detention he got today, we know your mom and dad won't let him leave. He'll be in enough trouble for coming here instead of going straight home." Jazz was silent as they reached the front and ordered their dinners, quickly relaying Sam and Danny's orders.

"What do you and Danny have in mind?" She finally asked. While she didn't like lying to her parents, she also understood that they would never understand Sam needing Danny at the moment.

"Sam's parents are forcing her to go to a party and she's asking for your help to be 'girly' at it because they're threatening to send her to an all girls' catholic school." Tucker relayed as they paid for their meals.

"Okay, I'll do it, but first we have to figure out how to tell Sam we're doing this." Tuck nodded.

They began walking back to the two friends silently.

"Fine, I'll do it." Sam said as soon as they sat down. Jazz and Tucker blinked before swiveling their heads towards Danny.

"Danny told me the plan for me to stay at his and I'm saying I'll do it." Sam crossed her arms and leaned closely to Danny, shivering as she continued to throw nervous glances towards the exits.

"Okay, that went over better than I anticipated." Tucker said simply before chowing down, stuffing his face full of food. Sam daintily picked at her vegetable medley as Danny stirred his chicken with his rice before taking a bit.

Everyone was silent for a while before Danny sighed and placed his fork on his plate.

"The storm isn't going to let up, but I can fly you all to my house." Danny stated before taking a sip of his soda.

"I'm pretty sure if mom and dad see how bad it is outside, they'll allow Sam and Tucker to stay." Jazz reasoned as Tucker and Sam looked uncomfortable. Sam did not like the idea of flying out in the rain.

"We'll be intangible and invisible so no one will be able to see us and the storm won't be able to touch us." Sam nodded as everyone finished their food.

"We should head out soon." Tuck piped up as he looked down at his watch. Danny picked up all of the bags. Sam wrapped an arm around his waist while Tucker walked close on her other side and Jazz on Danny's other side. Once they ducked out of sight, Danny grabbed ahold of everyone before going ghost and flying off.

Sam kept her eyes closed the entire time and focused on the calm emotions Danny was trying to send her way. While they had helped her some, she kept her hold on both Tucker and Danny tight until they were safely in Sam's room.

Danny placed their bags onto Sam's bed and picked up Sam's pet panther Chasta. For her fifteenth birthday her grandmother had decided that she needed a guard animal for when she was alone in the house. So she had picked out Sam's favorite animal and presented her granddaughter with is during brunch with Danny and Tucker one day.

The young Black Panther cub had obviously just been weaned from her mother and was terrified of her surroundings. Her grandmother had informed them that they had been rescued from abusive black market sellers that were raising them for their pelts.

Chasta hadn't been too enthralled with Sam or Tuck at first. In fact, she tried to attack Tucker as soon as she noticed him. But Danny had seemed to be able to calm the panther down enough for Sam to take care of her. After naming her Chasta and bathing her, Danny and Sam had gotten the panther cub to trust them.

She didn't like Tuck or Jazz all that much, but adored the two raven haired teens. Jazz took ahold of the cub while Sam changed into a pair of jeans and a sweater Tucker vaguely recalled as his before gripping Danny and Tucker's waists with a nod.

Once they took off again, this time to Tucker's, Sam was acutely aware of Danny's slow heart beating in her ear. She closed her eyes tight and listened closely, drowning out the thunder and lightning that surrounded them.

She didn't dare open her eyes until they were all the way to Danny's house, in his room.

Once their feet touched the ground, Danny quickly changed back.

They quickly thundered down the stairs, relieved to see that the main floor was cleared. Jazz opened the basement and nodded when their parent's voices

"Mom, Dad, we're home!" Jazz called out loudly. "And Sam and Tucker are with us!" Everything was quiet for a moment before Maddie and Jack's footsteps sounded around the house.

"Hi guys!" Jack greeted his children with a grin. "There's pizza in the kitchen if you're hungry. We hadn't had the chance to go on our date like we wanted to because of the storm, but hopefully the storm will be gone by tomorrow and we'll just go then." Danny was acutely aware Maddie refused to look at him.

"Are you two staying tonight?" Maddie asked gently, staring at her son's friends. "The weather outside is horrid and I don't want to have to worry about you two catching a cold or anything." Sam and Tucker were quick to agree before Tuck dragged Danny and Sam into the kitchen for some pizza.

"You just ate, Tuck!" Sam had exclaimed but followed nonetheless with Jazz giggling as she headed up the stairs. Maddie and Jack slumped in the loveseat in their living room and stared over to their son and his friends.

When they got home after a silent ride, Jack had relayed the conversation to his wife as they sat in the dining room. They had both agreed that they would take it a bit easier on Danny, in fear they would alienate their son the more they pushed him to tell them. Maddie cocked her head to the side a rather loud clap of thunder caused Sam to jump and move close to Danny while his head whipped to stare out the window, his blue eyes narrowed.

Jack just smiled as Danny's hand found the small of Sam's back, his thumb brushing back and forth in a comforting manner. He bet Danny was completely unaware to his actions as he began to chatter with Tuck, who was gulping down his slice of pizza.

"There really isn't much we can do, is there?" Maddie whispered, turned to stare at her husband. Jack just sighed.

"We'll just have to be here for 'em." Danny sighed and tilted his ear towards his parents. He couldn't fully make out what his parents were saying due to the noise from the storm, but he didn't like what he could pick up.

"How does a movie night in my room sound?" Danny asked as he handed Sam a drink before picking up one each for him and Tuck. They both nodded before heading up the stairs, Tucker snatching another piece of pizza before racing after his best friends.

Jack and Maddie heard as Danny yelled for Jazz to join them before he closed his door. After that, their voices were muffled.

"At least Jazz and Danny are closer." Jack prompted, trying to find the silver lining in the problem.

* * *

_**Okay, I know that I just threw you a curve-ball of crazy information, but please bare this in mind. I'm writing this for no one's pleasure but mine. Sure, I'll graciously accept ideas thrown my way, but this is my story. I understand that the confusion of throwing in new people, new secrets, and new craziness can easily fry some people's minds, but I feel that anyone reading this author's note right now can handle it. For those who backpedaled out of this story faster than a knife fight in a phone booth, they are inconsequential. **_

_**Yes, I want people to like this story, but I'm also aware that not everyone takes too kindly to adding more mystery in confusion to young Danny's life. And I understand that some of it just sounds ridiculous to you guys, but I'd like to think that my story flows at a rather okay pace. **_

_**Reviews are welcomed, but flames are not necessary. If you don't like a story, keep your thoughts to yourself and leave the page, no one is making you read it. But for anyone who actually takes the time to write a review, I will try my best to reply to you as soon as I can. Fanfiction is still keeping me from being able to reply at the moment, but I am patiently waiting and thinking about my replies to all that review!**_

_**~WildFireBurnsTheForest**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, lyrics, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plots are the intellectual property of the author(s). The author(s) is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended, nor should any be inferred. No profit is being made.**_

_**Second chapter up, yay! To any actually looking forward to the next chapter, here it is!**_

_**I know it's a bit shorter than the first chapter, but I'm starting to get a case of writer's block so don't expect the chapters to come so quickly. **_

* * *

It was already Friday and Lancer was still stuck in his rut. Watching the trio had been distracting him from his other duties and he was already falling behind on grading papers and calling parents.

Through it all, Danny still ran out of class at the most random times and would return much later looking like he'd run a marathon and gotten mugged at the same time. Lancer had found himself more reluctant than ever to duel out detentions to the raven boy and lenient on him when he caught him red handed at something.

Whenever he tried to talk to Danny, he was well aware of how fidgety the boy was, constantly looking around and trying to speed up the conversation so he could leave.

And his homework was another thing he didn't understand. If he held him after school long enough, Danny would turn in his homework early and it would receive stellar points, but if Lancer gave him an overnight assignment and it didn't get done, or it would be half-completed.

And there were the times that the homework turned in was not in fact Danny's.

Lancer still remembered one time not too long ago when Danny had said he didn't have his homework and Mikey had jumped up saying he had found Danny's homework. Danny had been quiet during class about it, but as soon as the kids were released, Danny had gone up to Lancer with a scowl.

"_That isn't my homework."_ He had stated sharply, like he was angered someone had completed the assignment for him. Lancer had raised an eyebrow and given a sound.

"_Oh?"_ Danny nodded before crossing his arm.

"_I'm not trying to get Mikey in trouble, because his heart is in a really good place, but I do not condone cheating or trying to find easy ways out of things and I would remember doing my homework." _Lancer, to this day, was confused by that statement. Sure, it was honorable the boy refused to receive points he hadn't earned himself, but it had only been one homework assignment.

"_Mikey tries to offer to do my homework all the time, knowing I'm not doing the best in class. But when I refuse he tries to do things like this. I know he means well when he does this and he just wants to help me some way, but I won't sit back and take credit for something that wasn't me. I'll accept the detention and the zero, but please do not punish Mikey." _Lancer, who had been too stunned, just nodded and handed over the paper which Danny had promptly ripped up and ducked out of the room with a word more thrown in Lancer's direction.

It had definitely been an eye opener for Lancer. Since then Lancer had taken a notice as to how Danny was treated in the halls by others. Those at the top of the chain were quick to tear Danny down and harass him physical and emotionally.

But those like Mikey and Nathan and their sisters were quick to help pull him back up once the bullies left.

He had noticed a few times that someone had taken to spilling random smoothies and shakes over Danny's head. Sam and Tucker would always take him to the alleged haunted first floor bathroom after those incidents. On occasion, Lancer witnessed another student, usually one of the aforementioned 'nerds' or Lana and Jake who were 'neutrals', would slip in with a towel or a clean shirt or a bottles of something that looked oddly like shampoo and conditioner before slipping out just as quickly as they came.

It was nice to know there were some people that respected and silently helped the trio, but Lancer felt horrible that it would actually have to come to something like that. Whatever happened to school being a safe-haven for kids to come to and be happy?

But the bigger question in Lancer's mind had been _when_ had the bullying become physical? The reports always talked about verbal abuse and while that was horrible on its own, the physical attacks he had witnessed in the halls against Danny were horrid and on a level of their own.

Locker slams, shoulder checks, tripping, spilling food and beverages on him, and so many more seemed like the norm for Danny's high school career. Frustratingly enough, Lancer had never been able to actually pinpoint who was to blame for these attacks, but he did have some inkling it was those _lovely _'a-listers' that enjoyed insulting others.

Maybe he would have to have a lecture on bullying again. But then again, they never actually seemed to affect the right people.

* * *

Later that day Lancer had been stuck with the job of history teacher today as their usual one was at a doctor's appointment today. He had been given the privilege to teach the trio for the third time that day and as he looked over the note, he could understand where some of the kids were having trouble comprehending things.

So, in light of Danny's advice, Lancer changed up the lesson plan and was astounded by the results in participation. More students were raising their hands with the answers and even more questions were hurtled his way.

Danny, Tucker, and Sam, were the ever quiet trio sitting in the back of the room, but Lancer could see a difference. Danny had smiled at him, knowing that Lancer had taken his words to heart.

"Alright everyone is to break off into groups of three or more, but no more than five, for our next assignment. The class had cheered. And as the rest of class rolled on, Lancer felt more energy than he had for years. Maybe Danny knew more than he led everyone to believe. Maybe, just maybe, there was more to the boy than everyone was led to see.

* * *

"So he had overheard what you said to Jazz and actually took it to heart?" Sam asked, stupefied. Danny nodded and leaned back on the plastic blanket. It was the second day in a row the faculty had allowed the students out in the fenced in plaza and Danny couldn't have been happier. While Sam and Tucker had their winter jackets on—seeing as it _was_ December—Danny was only out in a thin hoodie and was enjoying the cold.

"Dude, that's so…" Tucker's face screwed up. "Weird. Since when has a teacher actually ever taken into consideration what a student here said?" Danny looked to his right as Lancer approached with a strained expression after Tucker's outburst.

"I would like to think I listen to my students just fine, Mr. Foley." Lancer called out as he stood to the side of the trio. Danny sat up while Tucker blushed and nodded.

"Is there something we can help you with, Mr. Lancer?" Sam asked; always the level-headed one. Lancer nodded and turned to Danny.

"I was inquiring if you were in need of a heavier jack, Mr. Fenton. It's rather chilly out and here you are in nothing but a light spring jacket!" Sam and Tucker shared an unnoticed look of concern as Danny was stared down by his teacher.

"No, Mr. Lancer, I'm fine. I have always had a bit of a high immunity to temperatures and, in fact, enjoy the weather right now." Lancer frowned at Danny's earnest explanation.

"I know it's a bit odd for me to only need a hoodie, but I don't really get affected by the cold." Lancer glanced over at Danny's two and only friends to see their tense expressions. Danny sighed.

"Mr. Lancer." Danny got Lancer's attention back. "Would it make you feel better if I were to wear a heavier jacket to school tomorrow? I have one; I just don't like to use it all that much." Lancer nodded, his shoulders slumping a bit.

"It would, Mr. Fenton. I would really not wish to see you catch a cold due to not wearing a heavier jacket." Danny looked as if he were biting his lip as he nodded and looked down at Lancer's feet.

"Okay, Mr. Lancer, I'll try and remember tomorrow." Lancer nodded before taking off to go break up a couple in a rather questionable position.

"Great." Danny groaned, lying back down. "I'm gonna feel like a freakin' toaster tomorrow!" Sam stretched her feet out and nudged his side with her foot. Tucker just sat crisscross applesauce as he watched Danny intently.

"Be grateful he didn't try to call your parents and demand them to bring you your jacket or something." Sam mumbled. Danny rolled his eyes.

"It's not even at my house to begin with, it's still at yours." Tucker snickered at Danny's seemingly innocent statement.

"Oh, and pray tell _why_ your jacket is at her house!" Tuck screeched when Sam threw an apple core at his head.

"Danny had gotten injured and I had patched him up. He just forgot his jacket when he took off." Sam unnecessarily explained. Danny just stretched, groaning when his back popped several times.

"So I was thinking about leaving the boo-merang with Jazz so if we get into any trouble when we're in the ghost zone or if we get lost, she can hook the Fenton fisher to it and have it find us in the ghost zone and help us get home." Danny said, changing the subject.

"Real smooth man." Tucker sniggered before Danny flashed him the 'scary eyes'.

"But in all seriousness, it's a good idea!" Tucker amended before Danny could get up to attack him.

"I second that. It'll be more useful, and if we somehow get separated from you, we can just find the rope and follow it either to home or to you!" Sam liked her plan. Danny grinned and shrugged.

"See, I'm not all one-liners and off the top of my head thinking!" He exclaimed before taking a bite of his cookie. Sam and Tuck giggled.

"Whatever you say, Danny, whatever you say."

* * *

It was around seven o'clock that Saturday and Sam, Tucker, and Danny found themselves waking up in Danny's room with bellies full of dread. All week things had been going a bit too smoothly for the trio's liking. Even Jazz felt a bit suspicious at Maddie and Jack's sudden leniency.

Danny had decided to do his, Tuck's, and Sam's laundry before everyone showed up seeing as the lovely Skulker had gotten them on the way back to Danny's after picking up some more clothes and they got _covered_ in mud.

They had brought along Chasta, and she wasn't too thrilled about getting wet either.

So as of now, Tuck and Danny were in Danny's old pajama pants while Danny also had on a wife beater. Sam was clad in just a baggy old shirt of Danny's that she had found in one of his drawers along with some old underclothes she forgot she still had their.

"Of course the week after we go through your room and reclaim our clothes is when we really need them." Tuck complained as he sat down in the living room and played a video game while Danny cooked them some breakfast.

Jazz was sitting on the couch with one of Danny's Stephen King books and Chasta curled up next to her while she absentmindedly listened to their conversation.

Maddie had just gone to answer the door while Jack was working on something in the lab.

"Yeah, that's supposed to be how the universe works or something." Sam mumbled as she pulled something from one of the cupboards. "When you don't need it, you always have it. But as soon as you need it, it's gone!"

"Hey Sam can you hand me the—oh, thank you!" Tuck groaned from his spot in the living room.

"Four times this week you guys!" Sam just huffed and threw a wooden spoon at Tucker. "Hey! I was just saying!" Danny just gave Tucker a warning look before dumping some mushrooms onto one of the omelets. Maddie stood there with their guests—Lancer, Jake, and Lana—and watched her son and Sam move around each other so easily and effortlessly as they worked in the kitchen. She cleared her throat to inform them of her presence.

It was rare that either let their guards down to get so lost in each other's comfort that they completely zoned out from the rest of the world, but when it happened it could go on for hours and Maddie didn't have time for that.

Though she was shocked when Danny quickly pulled Sam behind him and had a knife clutched in his hands with a guarded look in his eyes. As soon as he recognized who it was he dropped the stance. Sam stepped out from behind him cautiously when he felt his shoulders relax.

"I forgot to tell you that we changed the time to nine so I suggest you hurry and finish and get ready." Danny blanched.

"Mom, I _just_ put a load of jeans in and Sam and Tuck literally have nothing else to wear until their clothes are clean!" Danny exclaimed. Maddie just sighed.

"Fine, we'll push it to nine thirty, but that's it!" Danny groaned.

"They'll just have to each wear one of your shirts." Danny growled but conceded.

"Does anyone else want an omelet?" Danny asked as he finished putting a third omelet on a plate filled with hash browns, bacon, and sausage links.

Everyone nodded their yeses and went about telling him what they wanted on them. While Sam called out to Tucker and Jazz to come eat.

Tucker scrambled in as Danny placed that next to two others with a lot less food on their plates. Jazz uncurled from her spot on the couch and padded in, Chasta running in to rub up against Danny. Fortunately for all in the house she was still a cub, but they all knew it wouldn't last long.

"Great Gatsby!" Lancer exclaimed as he got a good look at the panther.

"Why on god's green earth do you have a large feline in your household, Mrs. Fenton?" Maddie sighed as Danny placed omelets in front of Jake and Lana while Sam put a plate of bacon on the table along with another plate full of sausage links while Tucker grabbed the hash brown plate off the counter and plopped it in front of Maddie.

"She's actually mine, Mr. Lancer." Sam called out as she picked at the ends of Danny's tee, becoming very self-conscious of the fact that the shirt revealed way too much for her—or Danny's—liking.

"My grandmother got her for me for my birthday." She watched as Danny stormed out, only to come back a minute later with a blanket that he tossed silently over her lap before continuing his cooking. Lancer watched this all with a critical eye. The more he watched the two, the more he could understand where people came out with the link. He didn't know if it was real or just that they were intuitive, but either or was impressive.

"That's new." Lana mumbled after swallowing some eggs. "I got a koala for my birthday, but we had to take it back when she tried to attack my little sister." Danny snorted as he placed omelets down in front of Lancer and Maddie. He went to the basement door and yelled down to his dad.

"Breakfast dad!" He yelled. Tucker giggled at Lancer's incredulous expression.

"Welcome to Fenton works, where they find it more useful to yell through the house at one another than go to the room and speak like normal people. Feels sort of homey, doesn't it?" Sam just smacked the back of his head before continuing drinking her orange juice.

Lancer didn't have it in him to berate the girl. Maddie just smiled and rolled her eyes. While Tucker and Sam didn't spend much time at her house, she still couldn't help but consider them family in ways. They had been constants in Danny's life since they were young and Maddie doubted they were going anywhere anytime soon.

"Yeah, well I don't want to be near any weapon that might decide that it needs to attack me." Danny grumbled as he finished his omelet and sat down next to Sam to eat. Sam poured him some orange juice and shoved it close to him.

"Don't have to tell me twice." He muttered before gulping down the beverage.

"I'll get the dishes little brother; you guys just get your showers." Jazz murmured as she got up and kissed the top of his head. He nodded and thanked her.

"I'll go last." Tucker called as he flew back into the living room, the video game calling him. Danny and Sam just thundered up the stairs.

"Separate showers you two!" Maddie called out after them, causing Tucker to bust out laughing and loose his game while Sam and Danny cried out, mortified.

"Mom!" Jazz hissed, trying to keep back her laughter.

"We're talking about Danny and Sam here." Lana and Jake were doubling over in laughter while Lancer felt a bit uncomfortable.

"Ow!" Tuck called out. Lancer turned to see the remote on the floor near Tucker's head. "So not cool!" Lancer heard muted laughter from upstairs. Blinking, Lancer turned back to his breakfast. He didn't know what was going on, but he could tell today was going to be one wild day.

* * *

By the time everyone was here, all three teens had gotten showers. They, along with Jazz, were all up in Danny's room at the moment with a hair dryer blowing and music blazing as they screamed over one another to be heard.

The entiery of the class was sitting silently in the Fenton's living room as they waited on the trio.

"Tuck hand me the comb." Danny called out. Everyone was just looked back and forth at each other. Even Maddie felt uncomfortable waiting on them.

"Jazz when I said to use the hair spray, I meant on Sam's hair, not my face." There was giggling.

"Sorry little bro."

"No country!" Sam screamed out as the song changed. Someone liked country?

"But Saaam!" Danny drawled out. Paulina started. Danny liked Country? She expected that more out of the techno geek. If Danny changed his shirt to something black, he would be almost as gothic as Sam without even trying.

"Not the puppy dog eyes!" Tuck cried. Maddie giggled, the puppy dog eyes were a powerful force.

"Please Sammy!" Lancer's eyes widened, did he just call her Sammy?

"Oh, my god, do they act like this all the time?" Jazz's voice called out.

"Yeah, and then they get mad when we call them love birds." Valerie snickered. She remembered having a similar conversation with Tucker.

"We're not love birds!" They exclaimed in unison. There was a dull thud and Tucker cried out in pain.

"Well I wouldn't be able to get away with punching you in the face a second time, so." Dash's eyes widened for a moment. Danny could punch? Wait, just because he punched him doesn't mean he did well.

"It's not his fault you two are attached at the hip." Jazz called over whatever techno song they had blaring.

"I was thinking it was more like the g—aww come on Sam I was joking!" People looked back and forth at each other, what did Sam do now?

"I don't get it, either people think I'm dating Sam or I'm gay? Why isn't there a third option? Like the truth!" Jake snickered. He remembered when Lana asked Danny if he was gay once.

"Oh, man! Like when—ow! Why am I the one that always gets hit?" Lancer frowned.

"It's because you're a dumbass!" Maddie frowned at Sam's language.

"Watch your mouth, Samantha." They heard Danny's voice ring out, causing some of them to jump. The authority in his voice wasn't missed by any of the students.

"Sorry Danny." Sam just _apologized_? Paulina looked around to see her peers in the same state as her—shocked. _Sam_ just _apologized_ to _Danny_ after he had the gull to call her _Samantha!_ Did the world end when they weren't paying attention? Even Maddie looked appropriately freaked out.

There was a lull in conversation until Tucker's laugh resounded around the house.

"Tucker!" Sam and Danny called out. Jazz's laughter echoed Tucker's.

"Delete that picture NOW!" Sam screeched.

"Definitely not happening! You were literally sitting in his lap!" Maddie scowled while the kids in the living room started giggling. Lancer just listened passively.

"You are so lucky we need that stupid PDA otherwise it'd be going to Technus!" Tucker's yelp was distinguishable to all that went to school with him. It was common for Tuck to piss Danny and Sam off enough for them to hit him.

"Aw, come on guys. You love me!"

"I wouldn't go that far." Danny called out as the dryer turned off.

"You guys need to finish getting dressed. We're already running late." Jazz pointed out.

There was another break where no one spoke, someone had turned the music off so they were able to hear a bit better. They guessed they were getting dressed.

"You are not serious!" Danny's screeched causing the group to jump. Again.

"Oh, I'm dead serious." There was silence before Sam yelled out. "Oh, grow up. It was not funny."

"Hey, Danny, how would that work for you? Are you only semi-dead serious?" Maddie blinked. What? Semi-dead was a weird thing to say.

"Shut up you two." Jazz called out.

"Now sit down Danny. You got to do my hair, so now you get to wear this." Sam's voice rang out.

"That is not a good compromise. I'm pretty sure you asked me to style your hair." Dash and Gillian looked at one another. What?

"I asked for you to put it up in a simple bun, not to braid it into a bun." The corner of Lancer's lip rose slightly.

"Well, you didn't specify all of that…" Danny trailed off. There was a bunch of snickering from Tucker.

"Dude." Tucker didn't get any further.

"Shut up Tucker. Otherwise I'm leaving you in the ghost zone." Danny's voice rang out.

"Oh, come on Danny. I was_ just _saying." Tucker whined.

"Well don't." Sam stated.

"You really need to learn when to shut your mouth, Foley." Danny snapped.

"Dude, I get that you're stressed, but you don't need to take it out on me!" Tucker whined.

"Sorry man. You know how stupid this is." Danny muttered something before there was a crash.

"And that's what you get." Jazz said prissily as Sam and Danny groaned.

"Are we ready?" Tucker finally asked.

"Yeah, do we have everything?" There were murmurs before steps were heard above.

"Close my door!" Danny yelled out as he came running down the stairs.

"So you wish it, so shall it be." Tucker yelled out causing Danny to scowl. But that also might be because he finally noticed his entire class sitting in his classroom. But everyone was too busy staring at his eyes to take in his expression.

His sapphire blue eyes were heavily outlined by black eyeliner. Once they got past the make-up they noticed he was wearing a black v neck tee with an opened blue button up shirt over top it. He had dark wash jeans on and a pair of converses completed the look. And, as Paulina thought before, he looked like a typical Goth, but cuter than any of the others Paulina had the misfortune a meeting. Not that she would ever tell _anyone _that she thought he was cute.

Sam was next to come down and the guys had to check their chins for drool.

Sam was wearing a pair of black, boot-cut jeans. Instead of her usual combat boots, she had on converses like Danny. Her top was a simple black tee, much like Danny's, that was pulled into a ponytail holder so her stomach was revealed. She had a blue tie loosely tied around her neck and her usual black make-up on but with a bit of blue smudged into her eye shadow. Her hair was pulled back into a high braided bun with a blue crystal clip making her look kind of girly.

Tucker wore his usual jeans with a pair of converses alone with a black 'Forever the Sickest Kids' band tee. They all had their backpacks hanging from their hands as they stared out at their class.

"Danny-boy." Jack said hesitantly. Danny grimaced.

"Sam's making me wear the eye-liner." Danny ran a hand through his hair. "And most of my clothes are dirty so just drop it _please_." Dash and Gillian snickered at Danny's look.

"Okay…" Maddie stood up, still slightly shocked at the trio. She didn't remember buying Danny any of the clothing, but she guessed that didn't mean he didn't get it another way. Probably through Sam, if she were to take a gander.

"Oh, are any of you allergic to cats?" Danny asked as Chasta came hurdling down the steps and into Danny's arms. When no one said anything Sam nodded.

"Good then, because Chasta is going to be coming with us." Maddie crossed her arms.

"Oh, really?" Maddie wasn't too keen on having an animal in the vehicle.

"Would you rather we leave her here with Jazz for the day?" Danny challenged.

"Why can't she go back to Sam's house?" Sam snorted, but Danny replied.

"Her parents are home and I won't be able to stop Chasta from trying to attack Mrs. Manson if we aren't there." Tucker giggled.

"You would think that she'd like you a bit more for saving her." Danny rubbed his chin and hmm'd

"I think I might actually have a better shot at convincing my parents that not all ghosts are evil." Sam and Tucker snickered while Maddie and Jack glared at their youngest.

"We are already half an hour behind now, so let's please get to the ghost portal." Lancer called out, trying to pull the attention away from the trio.

"Alright, let's go!" Jack exclaimed, forgetting his momentary irritation, before ushering everyone down to the basement.

* * *

"So far so good." Tucker muttered as he sat down next to a quiet Sam and Danny. Maddie and Jack had surprised the trio with a new invention that had been under wraps in the lab. It was the Fenton Spector Speeder 2; a bus-like ship to go around the ghost zone in.

Chasta was currently sprawled out across both Sam and Danny's laps with her head on her paws as she stared out at all of the students on the Speeder. Her tail was languidly waving back and forth as she contentedly purred under Danny and Sam's gentle hands.

"Don't jinx us, Foley." Sam grumbled as she leaned against him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders with a grin, thankful that at least she wasn't still mad at him. He tugged at Danny's hair gently and was relieved when he stuck his tongue out before looking back out to the window.

"Where are we exactly?" Tucker asked as he pulled his PDA out.

"We're passing over box ghost's lair right now. I need to figure out a way to change mom and dad's path before we get too close to Vlad's. It looks like they are planning on doing a loop and I don't want them heading straight into his territory." Danny blinked. "Or worse, they could end up in Walker's territory." Danny answered as he picked at Sam's hand, which was lying high on his thigh, sandwiched between him and the panther.

Most of the students were talking around them, buzzing about being the first people to ever be in the ghost zone. But Lancer had been keeping his eye on the three tense students. While he knew that the displays of affection they were sharing right now were normal between them, he still couldn't help but stare in fascination. In all his years of teacher—which were quite a few—he had never had the privilege of seeing a group as tight and caring as these three were. And the relationship Danny shared with his sister was astounding too.

She had opted to stay home to watch the house and had pulled Danny and his friends aside for a moment to talk. Lancer had been passing by the room back from the restroom when he saw Danny hug his sister and tell her he loved her. Lancer had always thought that they weren't too close, but as Sam and Tuck smiled over at the sibling moment; Lancer didn't think that it was so.

"Good luck!" Tuck spouted out as Danny got up and walked over to his parents. Lancer looked down at their backpacks. They weren't the only ones that had brought them, but theirs all seemed rather bulky. What could they have in those that made them so big?

It was a bit quiet for about ten minutes as Danny and his parents had a whispered argument when suddenly, the lights flickered in the Fenton Specter Speeder 2. Danny dropped whatever he was saying before he raced over to his friends.

Everyone screamed when the Speeder went out of control and spiraled down close to the ground only to swirl up as a bright red beam shot past them. Lancer held onto his chair for dear life as Danny sat in between his two friends. They each had grabbed ahold of their backpacks and stared out the window with annoyed expressions.

A screeching noise had everyone covering their ears in pain as the top of the Speeder was literally ripped off and flung down to the ground. Everyone screamed as they were flung out of the totaled ship and landed roughly on the ground.

Suddenly a large form floated above the crowd.

"Ghost!" Jack cried out as he and Maddie quickly recovered from their shock and began aiming at the large, metal ghost easily dodged them. Lancer didn't like the sinister grin on his face.

"Stupid humans, you are no match for I, Skulker, the greatest—" Skulker didn't finish as a small beam shot him in the face, causing him to fly back.

"Annoyance in the ghost zone!" Danny cried out as he shot the ghost again with something on his wrist. Tucker quickly shot the ghost with a laser as well. Once he stood back up, Skulker glared at the trio—and growling panther— before laughing wickedly and flying away.

"I'll be back, welp!" Skulker called out before flying off.

"Daniel Julian Fenton!" The trio cringed when Maddie's voice rang out. Danny looked over at his mother guiltily as she stormed over to them.

"What got into you? All three of you! Do you realize how dangerous that was? And how did you even get ahold of those wrist rays? And—hmm!" Danny's head spun as he listened to his mother screech. He had quickly gotten up and covered her mouth.

"Are you _trying_ to attract other ghosts, Mother?" He hissed, eyes narrowing as a shadow quickly passed over them. Fortunately the thing hadn't noticed them.

"Now, I'm going to drop my hand, but you have to _promise _me to be quiet." Maddie narrowed her eyes and glared daggers at her son before nodding. Once he did, she crossed her arms and stared him down.

"Explain this right now." Danny sighed and beckoned Sam and Tucker close, Chasta followed close behind.

"We knew you guys hadn't been in here before so we decided it would be best for us to bring some weapons with us so we could help protect the class if something like this was going to happen." Danny half-explained with a shrug.

"The ghost we just encountered was named Skulker and he's the self-proclaimed 'Greatest Hunter in the Ghost Zone' but he's pretty incompetent." Danny informed as Tuck pulled out his PDA and began typing away.

"I know you're probably mad at me that I've been in the ghost zone before, but I'm fine and everything is fine. We've been floating around for hours so we are really far away from home, but if we stay on path, we can make it home within a couple of days at best." Maddie frowned.

"Why in hell's name were you even in the ghost zone in the first place?" She demanded. Danny sighed.

"Remember when you and Dad had that huge fight at your sister's? I accidentally knocked your present into the ghost zone and had to come get it." Danny glanced over at Tucker, who had groaned.

"The crash messed with Sharon. It's going to be a bit before I can repair her and get ahold of Jazz." Danny nodded a grim look on his face.

"Of course this happens. I told you not to jinx us, Bad Luck Tuck!" Sam exclaimed, sitting down on a rock near them. Danny sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as Chasta sat down next to him and leaned on him for support.

"Don't call me that Samantha!" Tucker shot back, glaring at the gothic girl. She glared back vehemently and opened her mouth to retort when Danny cut her off.

"Knock it off, both of you." Sam snapped her mouth shut, to most of the crowd's amazement and stuck to glaring daggers at the self-proclaimed techno-geek that had turned back to the PDA in hand.

"While I agree that Tuck did jinx us, fighting about it right now is _not_ going to help our problem." Danny stated as he looked around.

"We're near Pandora's territory, so that means we've passed Clockwork's, Dora's, _and_ Frostbite's lairs. If we start walking soon, we could make it to the far frozen by night." Dash stormed through the crowd.

"Who the hell put you in charge, Fenturd?" Dash exclaimed, ignoring the adults' incredulous looks. Was this boy really blind that he stooped to insulting the boy in front of both of his _parents_?

Just as Maddie was about to open her mouth to reprimand the boy, Sam opened her mouth.

"Listen here Baxter, right now we are stranded in another dimension. Now Danny here is the only one here that knows the ghost zone like the back of his hand and until Tucker can fix his precious PDA and call for help, Danny is our best shot at getting out of here. Unless you want to take control, because we know how well _that_ will end." Dash flushed in embarrassment when all of his classmates laughed at him. The adults stood speechless in shock.

"You know what? I _will _take over because we all know Danny couldn't lead a one man parade let alone a whole class!" Dash exclaimed. Most of the class looked up to Dash in respect. Dash was the leader of the football team, so of course he would easily be able to lead them out of this ghost zone, right?

"Oh, is that so?" Sam asked sarcastically, crossing her arms. Danny just stood there and watched the two like a tennis match. He knew that he could easily stick up for himself, but also knew that Sam needed to blow some steam off, so he stayed quiet.

"Yeah, that's so." Dash bit back.

"Okay, fine. Where should we go then, o' great and fearless leader?" Sam asked, her voice suddenly so sweet, it was dripping sugar. Dash gulped before looking around.

"That way." He said finally, pointing to the left. All the kids stood up and began following him as he stalked off until Danny finally spoke up.

"Tell me how it goes when Fantasma _**(A/N: Just some random ghost I made up I believe.)**_ gets a hold of you guys and chops you to bits to feed to his 'pet monsters' okay?" Everyone stilled as Danny's voice called out. They all turned to see him lounging languidly next to Sam while Chasta sat by them, her startling emerald eyes flicking around the area.

"What do you mean?" Lana asked fearfully.

"Each ghost in the Ghost Zone gets a territory—or lair as they call it— that's either a door or an island. Fantasma's is an island that we are _extremely _close to." Danny explained as he leaned back on his hands. Paulina couldn't help but sigh inwardly at how dreamy he looked with his raven locks falling into his sapphire orbs.

She knew she wasn't allowed to actually be crushing on Danny, but in all honesty she found him extremely cute and sweet. She had for years, in fact, but knew that if it ever got out that Paulina Sanchez—most beautiful and popular girl in the entire school—was crushing on Danny Fenton—he nerdiest loser in the entire school—her popularity would be down the toilet.

"Fantasma is a fairly benign ghost—it means he's harmless Dash— towards human but when provoked he's easily a level five out of ten ghost. He creates savage animals that he releases on his island and has them attack each other for his own amusement." Danny paused.

"We theorized he was someone that often attended those horrid underground dog-fights when he was alive by the way he enjoys watching those mindless creatures attack one another." Sam butted in. Danny nodded before continuing.

"He'll have no qualms about feeding you to his creations if he feels he'll get amusement at them fighting over you." Everyone stood still, shaking at the thought of being shredded to pieces by these vicious ghost creatures.

"Now do you still have troubles with believing Danny's our best way out?" Tucker spoke up for the first time from his position on the ground at Danny and Sam's feet. He had been busy unscrewing his PDA and trying to find out what the problem was.

"I don't." Jake stated as he and Lana stepped over to the trio, as did others in the class. Mikey and Nathan were the first two to step over after Lana and Jake. Their twin sisters Michelle and Natalia, respectively, also walked over. If their brothers trusted the trio, then so did they. After all, they owed the trio a lot more than they could ever understand.

Valerie, who was extremely tense with being in the place of the things she hated the most, quickly stepped over. If the three dweebs were the fastest way out, then she was going to take it. She silently cursed her dad for taking away _all_ of her ghost hunting gadgets. She bet once he found out she had been stranded in this hell, he'd immediately regret doing so. Still, she knew some fighting skills so she knew it was up to her to help protect her class and teacher.

Maybe she could convince Danny to let her have one of those weapons he had stashed in his backpack. After all, didn't he have some crush on her? She knew Tucker did, but he was busy with his PDA and wouldn't pay an ounce of attention to her.

Suddenly Jason and Cindy—the remaining 'uncool' kids—stepped over, influenced by Valerie's sudden stretch of faith.

Lancer and the adult Fenton's just watched on, memorized, as the trio quickly began to win over more and more of the class with their nonchalance and knowledge. Lancer got the feeling they had been in here more times than they had let on.

It was Paulina that took the fearful—_figurative_—leap and stepped over to the trio.

"He is the son of two ghost hunters after all, so he should at least know _something_." Paulina explained with a shrug to the remaining kids. They were all 'A-listers'. The usual crowd—Dash, Kwan and Star—along with two others—Sarah and Gillian—that were as high on the social ladder but hid behind the scenes.

They were two of the more cunning and dangerous A-list kids that understood more of the social status quo than the more known members of the elite.

Kwan and Star quickly joined, shooting quick looks of apologies to Dash for abandoning him. Paulina looked relieved as some of her most trusted followers came to her side. With only Dash, Gillian, and Sarah left, they knew they were beat. But only Gillian and Sarah understood when to admit defeat and plan for retaliation while Dash was a more 'live in the moment' kind of guy.

"Listen Dash." Danny began slowly, like he was talking to a child. And Maddie guessed, in a way, he was. Dash's attitude about the whole thing showed that his mentality wasn't as mature as she had first assumed. She should have guessed that he wasn't the sweet boy he had acted as earlier when he insulted her son.

"I'm not trying to over-step my boundaries or take your place or anything. Because lord knows that impossible, and so should you." Dash's shoulders began to loosen a bit as Danny continued to mediate the situation. Once again Maddie and Jack were impressed with their son.

Where was the problem child that was always coming home way past curfew and when he finally did show up, he was constantly hurt? Where was the mousy, shy kid that sat in the back of the classroom and would run out with some lame excuse only to show up way past the time it should have taken him? This wasn't the rebellious teenaged boy that refused to tell his parents and teacher where he had been, who he had been with, and _why _he kept coming home—or to class—bruised and battered. This wasn't the same boy that repeatedly fell asleep in any class, and detention, he was in at the moment. What happened to the teen that rarely turned his homework in and when he did it was usually incomplete?

Uncomfortably, Lancer, Maddie, and Jack realized that they did not have any answer to their plethora of questions. And, in the mass of the confusion, they realized that there was sick curiosity that wanted to know—not to help the boy—but just to know.

"I just have the class's best interest at heart here, just as you do." Danny continued after a moment of his imploring eyes roaming over Dash's steely ones.

"Right now, the entire class needs to stick together. I know we have several differences and I know it'll be hard to trust me, but right now we're in an _extremely_ dangerous situation and I've been in this position before. I'm not saying I'm an expert when it comes to all of this." There was a subtle snort from Sam that it seems only Lancer caught.

"But I would like to think I have a pretty good chance at getting us out of this." Dash's shoulders finally sagged in defeat as he crossed his thick arms and glared over at the smaller teen.

"Fine, but don't think this means that it's over between us once we're outta this hell hole." Danny sighed and relief before smiling and nodding.

"Alright, this is what we need to do…"

* * *

_**Review please! If you have any comments, questions, or concerns just review or private message me and I'll try my hardest to get back to you!**_

_**~WildFireBurnsTheForest**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, lyrics, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plots are the intellectual property of the author(s). The author(s) is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended, nor should any be inferred. No profit is being made.**_

_**Oh, my God. I just spent the past sixteen hours trying to write this. It is not beta'd and I bet this has several errors, but bare with me please. I hope you all like this chapter! It was really hard to find everything I did and some information is just random or made up, but I'd like to think that it's time for people to find out how smart Danny actually is!**_

* * *

"Danny!" Paulina whined in her full-time bubble gum voice, getting on Lana's nerves. Danny silently sighed. He was trying to keep the peace to make sure they didn't attract any unwanted attention from the ghosts floating around.

"What Paulina?" Danny asked patiently.

"Can't we take a break soon? Pretty, pretty please?" Danny wanted to bash his face against a rock, but unfortunately for him, humans passed through most of the rocks in the ghost zone.

"How much longer do we have to walk?" Paulina whined pettily when he didn't answer right away. She sighed as she trudged at the back of the group. They had to have been walking for hours by now! Her feet were _killing_ her in these heels and she was starting to sweat. That was _such_ a no go! If her make-up started to smear and they bumped into Phantom, she might as well die in mortification.

"We've only been walking for two hours, Sanchez." Sam hissed out. She, Tucker and Danny had taken up the front of the group while Maddie and Jack took the back. Danny and Sam were standing so close that Tuck had already made several cracks. Every time he did, they would step away from each other and hit Tucker, but they would always end up really close together for one reason or another.

"Well excuse me for not having a manly body built for this crap!" She hissed back, smirking.

"Paulina!" Danny reprimanded, glaring back for a split moment. Suddenly Chasta turned and growled sharply at the Latina. She jumped but kept her ground.

"I get that this isn't what you wanted to do on this field trip, but you do not have the right to insult Sam." He continued. All three adults had long since given up any authority over the group. None of them were really listening to them, but if Danny barked out an order, they were quick to follow.

It was interesting to Lancer that this was Danny Fenton, the wimpy kid that was constantly getting bullied. And here he was leading the entire class—plus his parents—out of another realm as if he's done this a million times.

Paulina huffed, but didn't say anything else. She felt so humiliated! Danny had _never_ yelled at her before! Danny had always been one to shut Sam up, no her! She flushed in embarrassment as Lana giggled to her left. That was the last straw, once they were out of here she was going to make those three loser's lives a living hell.

"How are we going to get food, Danny?" Tucker asked as he looked up from his PDA. He still hasn't had much luck figuring out what was wrong. Danny had theorized that Skulker had jammed the PDA's system.

"I'm thinking about calling Cujo. I know it's risky, but he's the only hope we've got until we can reach Frostbites. When I had estimated a day's walk until the Far Frozen, I forgot to take in the rest of the class's pace compared to ours so we're probably going to reach some neutral territory. It isn't too much further; maybe another two hours and we'll be good for the night." Danny stopped at a fallen tree blocking the entire path. Maddie stormed up with Jack and pushed Danny back. Chasta hissed, but retreated with the trio.

"It's okay, sweetie, let the adults take care of this." She said before she and Jack blasted it with their ecto lasers.

"Mom stop!" Danny called out, Maddie just smiled and rolled her eyes.

"It's fine Danny, it should be gone within a few moments!" Soon the tree was split and everyone had quickly raced to the other side as the ground began rumbling.

"Danny!" Sam cried and clung close to him. Chasta cowered close to the ground, eyes flickering nervously at vegetation that seemed to be moving around.

"What's happening man?" Tucker panicked.

"We're on someone's island, so not only are we trespassing, but mom just attacked him! Obviously whoever this is has some sort of control over plant life." Sam's eyes widened.

"Danny." She said a bit more quietly when vines began to crawl closer to her and Danny. They seemed to ignore everyone else.

"Sam." He replied verbally, but through the link, Sam could see what he wanted. She stood back to back to him and pulled the anti-creep stick out.

"I think they know you were under undergrowth's control before." Tucker exclaimed from his spot feet away his friends. Danny blinked.

"They're not controlled guys." He muttered. "They're searching for parents." Sam made a face.

"Why are we the ones that plants always cling to?" Danny shrugged before turning to Tuck, who was busy laughing his butt off. Chasta was swatting and killing random vines that slithered towards him and Sam.

"When you're done laughing I would like to inform you that I know how to get rid of them, but I need you to take everyone and get them back." Sam screeched as the vines wrapped around her and Danny and lifted them up back to back, Maddie and Jack continued to attack the vines. Tuck nodded, still laughing, and grabbed each Maddie and Jack's arms and dragged them away. Chasta refused to leave, continuing to attack each vine she could get her claws into.

"Be careful bro!" The rest of the group followed easily, wanting far away from the ghost. Danny waited calmly until they were far enough away before he focused on his and Sam's link.

"Oh!" Sam exclaimed as her body involuntarily shivered. She turned tilted her head back until it was against Danny's. Danny kept his eyes closed as he focused on his frozen ghost core. Being careful not to cause suspicion to the class he began freezing the vines touching him and Sam. They quickly loosened up at the cold touch. Danny quickly spun until his chest was pressed against Sam's back. He dug in his pockets and pulled out a pair of gloves and slipped them on.

Last time he had stopped to visit Frostbite, the yeti had just finished a new device that enhanced his Cyrokinesis powers and channeled them through the pair of gloves so that he could use his powers on a higher scale. He placed a palm on either side of Sam and concentrated, his eyes flashing a bright blue. Sam also spun and wrapped her arms around Danny's neck, knowing once this happened, they'd go flying.

"Hold tight." He whispered as the ice crawled from his hands and over the vines, inching it's way further down the green vegetation. Once it was completely frozen Danny slammed his fist, hard, on the iced vines, causing them to break to pieces. As they went hurdling towards the ground, Danny turned so he hit the ground, taking the brunt end of the slam. They quickly scrambled to their feet and Danny, hacking from getting the wind knocked out of him, grabbed Sam's hand and began running off, shooting ice from the glove to scare the vines as they ran.

Once they met back up with Tuck, Danny had gotten most of his breath back, but they were both a bit winded from running. Usually Danny didn't have trouble running, but after the landing he took, he couldn't say he was at his best.

"You guys okay?" Tuck asked, looking Sam and Danny over for any evident injuries. Sam had a few cuts on her wait where the thorns on the vines had scraped her, but other than that she was fine. Tuck pulled out his first aid and got her cleaned and bandaged quickly while Danny kept pacing and breathing heavily.

"Dude, I saw that landing. You really should let one of us get some cream on your back." Tuck piped up after watching his friend for a bit. Danny shook his head.

"I'll be fine, but if I thought my back was hurting _before_." Danny stretched his shoulders and winced before continuing with his pacing. Danny ran his hand through his hair.

"Where's the rest of the group?" Tucker pointed to a cave. Danny stormed over there quickly.

As soon as Maddie and Jack saw their son they ran over and began nit-picking over him. When Maddie noticed the cut over his eyebrow, she almost had a cow.

"Oh my baby!" Maddie cried as she tried to pull him in for a hug. Danny winced as she gripped his back.

"Mom, I'm fine, but we need to go _now. _That type of cyrokinesis signature isn't common so someone will be here soon to investigate." He said pulling the rest of the group out of the cave and ushering them away.

* * *

They had been walking for another half an hour before Danny called for a twenty minute break. Danny instantly fell to the ground. He had already gotten his breath back, but the fall to his back had seriously hurt.

"Dude, I'm serious." Tuck demanded as he noticed Danny's discomfort. "You need to let us look at it." Maddie frowned.

"What's wrong with Danny? Did something else happen?" Her eyes widened and she began to vibrate.

"And what was with the cyrokinesis thing you were talking about earlier and how exactly did you beat those vines and why did we have to get out of the way?" The trio stared at the adults with wide eyes.

"Um, nothing's wrong. Tucker's just making a mountain out of an ant hill." Sarah jumped up with a secretive smirk.

"No he isn't! I saw you fall out of the sky, Fenton!" She cried, waving her arms around widely. "You got slammed flat on your back with Gothica on top of you. With that much weight landing on you, you must have gotten seriously hurt!" Sam looked ready to murder her while Danny looked panicked.

"Uh, it wasn't that high and I barely felt it." It was kind of true; his body was already working on healing the bruise that painted his back black and blue. The muscles in his back were going to be really tense for the next few days, though. Maddie continued to fret until Danny groaned.

"Mom, seriously, I am fine. We weren't that high and it was nothing. I promise you I feel fine and if anything goes wrong, I'll tell you." Danny ignored the giggles of his classmates as his mother clucked over him. Sam stepped up next to him and put a soft hand in between his shoulder blades. Only Tuck, Sam, and, surprisingly, Lancer noticed how he tensed.

"Okay, but what about everything else we asked about?" Jack exclaimed. Danny sighed and threw his hands up in the air.

"A friend of mine made these gloves that imitate cyrokinesis. I used them to freeze and kill the vines and if you guys had been too close you could have been hit by some of the ice shards." Sure, Danny fudged the truth a bit, but it wasn't going to hurt them this way.

"Oh." Jack felt silly for being so suspicious of his own son. And he couldn't even think as to what he would be suspicious about! Danny nodded before grabbing Sam's arm and looking at her watch. Chasta curled around Danny and rested her head on his thigh.

"We can't stay in any place for more than twenty minutes or the amount of energy we exude is going to notify them that we're here. But we're only about forty minutes away from safer territory so we can stay there for the night." Maddie frowned.

"Sweetie, ghosts use a lot more energy than we do. It's a good theory you have there, but there are way too many flaws in it. No ghost can just sense energy like the way you're talking about and they aren't sophisticated enough to track us." Maddie was shocked when, instead of the grateful smile she was expecting at having his worries dispelled, Danny shot her a dirty look before turning towards his friends and muttering in low, even voices.

Maddie just stood there, blinking repeatedly as she tried to pick up on their conversation, but she couldn't understand what they were saying. It was almost as if they were speaking in another language. Actually, Maddie caught a few words that sounded oddly like Esperanto, but when would her son have learned a language as complicated as Esperanto. As much as she loved her son, he wasn't the brightest kid in the class.

At first, the horrible grades had shocked her. Danny always seemed like such a bright boy, so how were his grades so atrocious? But when she thought more on it, Sam and Danny had been in the same classes all their lives, so had Danny just been copying off of Sam the entire time? It would make sense as to why Danny never seemed interested in anything they spoke about. He probably didn't understand it!

Jack slowly pulled her away from her staring and over to where Lancer was lounging. The kids had all taken to separating into groups, but no one was in the mood to talk. Lana and Jake were curled up together as they watched the purple and green swirled sky float around them while Kwan and Star were practically asleep in each other's arms on the ground. Mikey and Nathan were sitting with their sisters, who were taking the time to do a bit of yoga to relax their muscles.

Sarah and Gillian were watching the trio with critical eyes, each trying to formulate an idea as to what the three were planning. Dash and Paulina were the only two left and the couple were silently shaking. Valerie, Cindy, and Jason were just sitting there. Valerie looked like she was brooding, while Cindy and Jason were just there.

Those two never really sat well with Lancer.

"Is everyone hungry?" Danny asked suddenly as the trio broke from their huddle. Everyone groaned in agreement.

"But how are we supposed to even get food?" Sarah complained. "We're in the Ghost Zone after all." Danny stood and sighed.

"I know a way, but it's another ghost and I needed the promise no one will shoot him." Valerie blinked when he glanced in her direction. Why would he look at her when he said that? Did he know who she was? Nah, that couldn't be right. There was no way he would have been able to connect that she and the Red Huntress were the same person. As much as she liked the boy, he couldn't figure out a grade-school riddle to save his life.

Maddie and Jack nodded sullenly before placing their guns in their holsters.

"I promise as long as this thing doesn't attack us." Danny sighed.

"That's the best I'm going to get out of you." With that he walked off to the side and shoved two fingers in his mouth and whistled so loud, everyone had to cover their ears.

"Why did you do that?" Dash cried out. Danny opened his mouth to reply, but was tackled to the ground by a flying green blob.

Maddie and Jack both jumped up with guns blazed as the dust cleared up. They didn't want to accidentally shoot their son. The rest just waited to hear Danny's screams of pain. What shocked them all was when Danny's laughter rung out.

"Good boy Cujo!" He squeaked as a tiny green puppy continued to lap at the raven-haired boy.

"Who's the _real_ best hunter in the entire ghost zone? You are! Yes you are." Sam giggled as he watched Danny roll the puppy onto his back and scratched his chest. Everyone else stood—or sat—in shock as the ghost yapped happily and wagged his tail.

"Alright Danny." Sam cut in. "I know you missed Cujo, but we really need to get some food soon. We are _all_ starving." Danny nodded and sat up with Cujo resting snuggly in his lap.

"I know." He mumbled sullenly and patted Cujo on the head. Suddenly Valerie stormed to the front of the group and started yelling.

"Why in the hell do you have that damned ghost dog that ruined my life?" She screeched. "I demand you tell me why I shouldn't shoot the little fucker right now and _finally_ rid it from my life!" Danny's eyes narrowed and the dog jumped up and growled. At first Lancer thought it was kind of cute how the little puppy was trying to act all tough until the puppy grew into this gigantic, slobbering beast that glared down at the sassy colored teen.

Valerie screamed along with the rest of the group when Cujo jumped closer and knocked her onto the ground.

"Cujo, heel!" The authority filled Danny's voice again as he stood next to the beast with his arms crossed over his chest. Cujo growled one more time before backing away until he was sitting just behind the teen.

"Valerie." Danny hissed once he helped the girl back to her feet. "I know you have had problems with Cujo in the past, but he is not at fault for the problems that have happened in your life. And he _definitely_ did not _destroy_ your life. I get it that it sucked when you lost your money and your alleged friends turned their backs on you, but you made the best of it and became a lot more responsible." Maddie sat down on the ground and watched her boy.

"Cujo had been a puppy at Axion labs and was killed along with the rest of the guard dogs shortly after they hired your dad as their security director." Danny explained.

"His obsession had been to find his squeaky toy he had when he was still alive, and to find a master to guard." Sam said, coming up to stand next to Danny, Chasta padding up and sat closely to Cujo with a purr.

"But I thought he was Phantom's dog?" No one noticed the frantic glance between the three friends.

"Phantom never claimed him." Danny shrugged.

"But Cujo will only listen to the Danny's." Tucker spoke up from where he was still messing with Sharon.

"Danny's?" Maddie asked, cocking her head to the side. Now that the main threat of the ghost dog was no more, Maddie had to admit she was rather interested in learning about this.

"He means Danny Fenton and Phantom." Sam stated as she stared up at Danny with a hint of amusement. He rolled his eyes before scratching Cujo's chin. There was a sudden 'pop' and the ghost beast was no more. Now there was the puppy back in his place.

"Good boy Cujo!" He picked up the puppy, grinned, and turned to Sam before placing Cujo down and staring at the dog.

"Go get food, boy. Go fetch!" Danny called out. The puppy yapped and waged his tail before racing off.

"Alright so we need to head off now. Cujo will track me down once he finds us food." Sam giggled.

"He always knows how to find you." Danny rolled his eyes as he pulled his arms over his head and stretched back, his shirt rising up enough to show a bit of scarred milky skin that hid under his semi-loose shirt.

"Damn, Fenton, when did you get abs?" Jake asked unabashedly, much to Lana's amusement. Neither Jake nor Lana had problems speaking whatever was on their minds and this was another time they were centered on the black-haired teen. Danny just blushed and pulled his tee back down.

Fortunately for Danny, Maddie and Jack had been too busy messing with their weapons belts to notice the scars. Most of the kids had been too focused on his abs to notice the scars. Valerie noticed though, and she felt sick at how many covered such a small bit of skin. She could only imagine what else there was.

"Let's just go." Danny murmured before turning and walking, Sam and Tucker tagging along behind him with Chasta behind them.

"How long did you estimate until we got to where we were stopping for the night, Daniel?" Lancer finally spoke out for the first time the entire trip. He had opted to staying quiet and observing the group, but he was growing weary with all the walking. Danny glanced back at his teacher before focusing back on the pathway.

"About thirty more minutes, if not less if we keep a good pace." Paulina and Star groaned in unison.

"I know everyone is hungry and tired, but we need to keep up a good pace so we can finally rest for the night." Maddie spoke up, trying to excerpt some air of authority over the kids. Danny had mostly taken care over the lead, but that didn't mean the adults didn't deserve respect from the unruly bunch.

"Yes, Mrs. Fenton." Paulina pouted. Everyone was quiet as they continued to walk, the noises of the ghost zone growing in volume until it was almost too much to handle. Everyone had stopped and cringed, looking around for the offender.

"Why is it so loud?" Michelle hissed, covering her ears. Danny looked tense as he seemingly stared at nothing.

"It's nothing that can hurt us, Michelle." He mumbled, his eyes roaming around the open air of the zone. Tuck, Sam, and Danny didn't seem too bothered by the noise.

"It's electromagnetic currents that are flying through the air." He explained as he began walking again. "It means we're close to the border. I know it's a really annoying sound, but we can just stand here and listen to it." Jake nodded and pulled Lana to him as they continued to walk, everyone else huddled close and walked as fast as they could.

Suddenly they came across a bridge. Danny stood in front of it, his head cocked to the side.

"Dude, can we _go_? This noise is giving me a headache!" Dash complained, pushing past Danny and took a step onto the bridge, only to yelp and quickly jumped back.

"What the hell dude!" Dash screamed in Danny's face. Danny just stood there with an amused grin plastered on his face.

"Thanks man. I was trying to figure out how to summon the keeper without getting electrocuted, but you were cool enough to take care of it for me." Danny exclaimed happily as Sam and Tuck giggled.

"I think that's the first time you _didn't_ get electrocuted, Danny." Tucker teased as he wrapped an arm around Danny. Danny just stuck his tongue out before looking back to the bridge.

"He should be here in three… two… one…" Some of the girls yelped when a swirl of orange appeared in front of them until an old ghostly being floated in front of them.

"Ah, the young ghost boy." The old ghost croaked out, staring down at Danny. "It is an honor to finally meet you, child." Danny smiled up at the ghost.

"The honor is mine, brother of Clockwork." Danny said formally. "He has talked about you several times during our visits. Many memories from when you two were alive." The ghost smiled down at the supposed human.

"Yes, I haven't been to see my brother in such a long time." Danny nodded.

"Anyway, down to business." The ghost floated to Danny's side and stared over at the rest of the group.

"I am brother time, keeper of the bridges to the neutral territory." His voice echoed authority and age.

"Okay, so can we pass?" Gillian stated sarcastically. Maddie kept an ecto gun directed at the ghost. Brother Time shook his head

"It is not that simple, human child." Sarah stormed over.

"And what is that supposed to me, spook?" She hissed out. She could practically _feel_ her hair getting frizzy and if she spent too much longer in here, she was going to scream.

"It means you will have to answer several riddles and clues before you can continue. I wish you well." He clapped his hands together and the entire group was surrounded by a thin red tendril that wrapped around each person. Danny, Sam, and Tucker stood calmly, causing Lana and Jake to relax. If the trio wasn't worried, then they had nothing to worry about themselves.

"Calm down everyone. Brother Time isn't someone to hurt." Danny murmured as the ghost hovered in the same area. He smiled over at Danny with something akin to affection.

"It's such a shame you've given up your dreams, young astronomer. You are so bright, too." Jack watched as Danny just frowned and looked down before he suddenly disappeared, Sam and Tucker close behind him. Soon, one by one, everyone disappeared, falling unconscious as they went.

* * *

Everyone seemed to awaken at the same time. Opening their eyes they were greeted with a dim light. Once their eyes adjusted to the light and they could see again, they realized they were in a large circular room. Danny was sitting in the center of the room with Sam sprawled across his laps with Chasta at their side. Valerie and Nathan were tangled together much like Sam and Danny. Gillian and Natalia found themselves in a similar situation. Paulina and Mikey did along with Cindy and Jason, Jake and Lana, Kwan and Star, Dash and Sarah, and Tucker and Michelle. Lancer, Maddie, and Jack had been scattered throughout the room. Suddenly a large plasma television flashed on the wall as words began being typed onto the screen.

"You are to answer each of the riddles with the correct answer." Danny read off the screen, a crease in his forehead. "It seems Brother Time has a new game for us." Danny snickered as he helped Sam up. The rest were quick to separate and stand up, brushing themselves off in embarrassment before turning to face the screen.

"This'll be simple!" Maddie exclaimed as she hopped up off the floor. "I'm wonderful at riddles." Danny had stepped forward to take the keyboard off the wall when Maddie stopped him.

"Now sweetie, I love you and all, but I think you should leave this up to us. We all know you aren't the best at this." Danny's shocked face quickly turned stony as he heard his some of his classmates laugh in agreement.

Danny could feel Sam's anger pouring into him through the bond while he was sure she was tasting his hurt. He frowned and tossed the keyboard over to Jack.

"Fine, I'll leave these up to you." He picked up his backpack and walked over to a wall and plopped down.

"Tell me when you're done." He muttered. Sam and Tucker were quick to follow him, shooting incredulous looks over at his mother, who was too busy looking at the first riddle in confusion.

"A man gave one son 10 cents and another son was given 15 cents. What time is it?" Maddie scrunched up her nose.

"That doesn't even make sense!" Star cried out loudly. Kwan sat back down on the floor in dismay.

"How are we ever going to get out of here if we get riddles that don't have an actual answer?" Lancer glanced over to see Danny lying on his stomach with his head resting in Sam's lap as Tucker sat on Sam's other side and Chasta laid on Danny's legs. Sam's hand was weaving through Danny's mop of hair while Tucker was examining his PDA.

Danny quickly looked over at the screen and snorted before looking up at Sam who smiled. Danny mouthed something up to her and she smiled proudly down at him. She bent down and whispered something in his ear before kissing the side of his temple and continuing to play with his hair. Tucker mouth 'lovebirds' to himself before focusing back on his PDA.

* * *

"Alright, we're screwed." Gillian cried. It had already been half an hour since they got their first riddle. No one had figured it out yet and they were all still standing around. Somehow Cujo had found them with food and water in his clutches. He had tugged together a blanket filled with a box of granola bars, a loaf of bread, and several packages of cheeses and lunch meats.

There had even been a pack of water in there. No one jumped to question how the dog could possibly know to get all of this, or even _where_ he got it. They were all just too grateful when they were able to each get a sandwich, a granola bar, and a bottle of water.

Sam and Danny had taken some of the left over lunch meat to feed to the two animals—along with the lunch meat placed on Sam's sandwich. Danny had also given Sam his granola bar and just ate the sandwich.

Now everyone was just lounging around on the floor, all trying to figure out the answer. Well, everyone but the trio was trying to find the answer. They already knew it, but Sam had convinced Danny to let them stew for a while.

Danny currently was sitting Indian style as he drew in the sketchbook that was resting on his left knee. His right knee was occupied with Sam's head. She was stretched out with Tucker laying his head on her stomach. Sam's left hand was holding Tucker's while her right hand was busy petting Chasta. Cujo was sleeping on Danny's left, his tail wagging in his sleep.

Jack had snapped a picture with his portable Fenton camera before noticing something that made him uncomfortable. He never knew Danny was left-handed.

"How in the world is money and time connected?" Lana wailed, falling back into Jakes arms. Sam looked up at Danny.

"Hey Danny." Sam's murmured, catching the attention of Lancer, Jack, Jake, and Lana, who had been the four closest to the trio.

"Yes Sammy?" Danny asked distractedly as he continued with his drawing.

"I'm kind of getting bored waiting on them to guess this." Danny shrugged.

"Mom said she'll handle it so she'll handle it. Just try and get some sleep. It'll be safe for us to actually stay here to sleep tonight." She sighed but nodded.

"If that's really how you feel, then okay." She and Tucker sat up and pulled Danny's bag closer to them. She pulled out a large blanket out before zipping his bag back up. Tucker laid his head on Danny's thigh before pulling Sam close and wrapping the blanket around the two of them. Sam curled up on her side and used Tucker as a pillow while Chasta curled up at Sam's back and laid her head on the curve in Sam's side.

Cujo suddenly grew to his full size and curled around Danny before falling back asleep. Danny just continued to draw in his sketchbook, barely taking his eyes off the book.

Lancer had watched the whole thing with a scrutinizing eye while Jack just looked somber. Danny had obviously been upset by his mother's insensitive comment about his intelligence. Jack knew what it felt like to be considered an idiot by those around him, even though he was a credited scientist.

As he watched his son throughout the day, he couldn't help but recognize something in Danny that broke his heart. It was the look of a conditioned warrior, someone who was used to the war and knew what to do. Maybe Danny _wasn't_ book smart like he, Maddie, and Jazz were, but he had the street smarts Jack had seen in Maddie's sister, Dan, before.

Danny was quick to assess the situation and come up with a solution instantly while Jack and Maddie had just rushed in head-first in their attack. As much as it hurt Jack, he knew he and Maddie we're the best ghost hunters. Wonderful scientists, sure, but they weren't good ghost catchers.

As he watched Danny play off his injure back as if it were nothing, Jack felt sick and proud at the same time. Sick that Danny genuinely seemed none too bothered by the huge impact that had taken place, but proud that Danny had done that for Sam and took it without complaining. He hadn't said anything, but he had witnessed the fall. He had seen how far the two actually fell out of the sky and he was baffled by how Danny was okay, if not a bit battered.

Maddie had been quick to take samples of the plant that had attacked them before Tucker had dragged them away from the scene. As Jack watched his son, he had to admit he was impressed with how quick Danny had taken to finding a solution and eliminating the problem.

When Jack and Maddie had been talking and trying to pinpoint when Danny's behavior took the turn for the worse, they hadn't been able to figure it out. But as Jack sat there and thought about it more, he felt he was coming closer to the answer.

In the beginning of high school, Lancer had mention how Danny had just as much, if not more, potential than Jazz had during her first year there. It was after the portal incident that Danny's grades began to plummet, like the small shock Danny had taken to his system had caused him not to care anymore.

Jack's eyes widened. Why hadn't he thought about it before? The whole time Jack and Maddie had tried to figure out when things changed, and it was there the entire time. The trio had said Danny had gotten shocked when he and Maddie were out picking up pizza for the kids. But what if there was more to it? Danny refused to go to the hospital to make sure he was okay, and freaked any time Jack or Maddie mentioned doing test themselves.

Had something worse happened to Danny than he was saying? What if he had almost died or something? It was right after the ghost portal that Danny began to pull away from his family and closer to Sam and Tucker.

Sure, the trio had always been close, especially after the summer before eighth grade, but this brought them even closer. Jack can barely remember a time after the portal incident when he was able to catch Danny alone. Either Sam or Tucker were almost always staying at the house, or him at one of theirs.

Jack sighed and looked over to his son. He didn't know what had happened in Danny's life—how sad was that—but he was at least thankful the boy had his best friends there for him through it.

* * *

Maddie Fenton opened her eyes and sat up, trying to find the reason for her to be awakened. The rest of the kids, Jack, and Lancer were all still asleep as they had been for the past six hours. Maddie quietly stretched and looked around for her son, and smiled softly. The trio had moved around since Maddie had last seen them.

When Maddie had laid down to go to sleep, they had been in the same position as they had been since Sam and Tucker laid down. Now, Danny laid on his side spooning Sam while Tucker laid on his side facing the couple. They each had a hand placed on top of one another in the area between Sam and Tucker. Cujo had curled around their heads and was currently being used as a type of pillow by the three.

As she sat there and watched them sleep, she noticed something. Danny's face was wet, like he was sweating. Maddie's eyes widened. Or like he was crying! Just as she was about to get up and investigate why her baby boy was crying, Sam stirred in her sleep.

"Danny." She murmured, turning on her back and cupping Danny's cheek. Danny's sapphire orbs flew opened as he shot up into a sitting position. Tucker awoke at the commotion and sat up along with Sam.

"Oh, Danny, it was only a dream." Sam murmured as she took in Danny's wild eyes. He turned to stare at the faces of his two best friends.

"Oh god." He cried before pulling Sam and Tucker into a tight hug. For once, Tucker held back just as tightly as Sam began brushing the tears off Danny's face.

"I thought I lost you two." Sam nodded as Tuck ran his fingers through Danny's raven locks.

"We were at that concert." Maddie frowned. What concert? Why did Danny have to be so cryptic? Sam and Tuck understood whatever he was talking about, though.

"And I had dreamed I hadn't gotten there in time and that they had…" Danny gulped before burying his face into Tucker's neck. Sam pulled away and grabbed some tissues out of her bag as Tuck wrapped his arms around Danny's shoulders. Danny pulled away quickly and took the offered tissue out of Sam's hand.

"I, they never hurt you two, right?" Danny asked. "I dreamt that they had just gotten ready to-to kill you two." Tucker grabbed a hand and Sam grabbed the other. Maddie sat stock still, unable to move.

"Baby." Sam's voice cut through Danny's babbling.

"You got there in time and then that guy saved you from getting killed. Remember?" Danny shivered at the memory, but nodded. Maddie sat there, completely believing she heard that wrong. Danny had never almost gotten killed! They must have been over exaggerating this.

But then why was Danny so scared? Even if it wasn't for himself, he had been terrified these 'guys' almost killed Sam and Tuck.

"You had forced me to take Sam and run." Danny nodded again.

"Get her to safety. Grab her and get her the hell out of there. Don't look back and don't come back. You lives are more important than mine." Danny grimaced. Maddie knew she was forgetting something, and as her chest tightened she knew it was important. Oh, yeah. She needed to _breathe. _But as she relayed Danny's words in her mind, she didn't know if she could.

"You were there for us that night when we were thirteen, and you've been there for us almost all of our lives, Danny." Sam whispered as she pulled him down until he was half-lying half-sitting against Cujo.

"You've always saved us from anything and everything." Tucker murmured as he laid close to Danny and put his hand on Danny's chest, right where his heart was.

"So let us be here for you tonight, okay? You saved us from those maniacs. But that doesn't mean you didn't get hurt in the process." Sam scooted in between Danny's legs and laid down, placing her hand next on Tucker's. Danny brought his hand up gently and wrapped his fingers around the two hands before wrapping his other arm around the petite girl pressed up against him.

"I love you guys." Danny whispered as he buried his face into Sam's hair and closed his eyes.

"We love you two, Danny." Tucker whispered as he closed his eyes as well.

"We will _always_ love you, Danny." Sam amended as she brushed her free hand over the hand that was resting low on her stomach. She brought the blanket over the three before turned her head enough to rest a gentle kiss at the base of Danny's throat. She closed her eyes and forced good memories of the trio to come to her mind and sent them down the link to Danny. He tightened his grip on her with a smile before succumbing to unconsciousness.

Maddie wiped away silent tears as she watched the three teens hold on another. What could have happened in her baby boy's life that would cause so much pain and turmoil? She laid back down and curled up into her husband's side, seeking comfort from her slumbering love. As she closed her eyes, Maddie was more determined than ever to figure out her son, no matter the cost.

* * *

A few hours later, Maddie was re-awoken by Jack shaking her shoulders.

"Wake up babe." Jack muttered, trying to sit up. Maddie scrambled up and quickly glanced around. Everyone was slowly waking up and the talking was muted as there were some students still asleep.

Among those awake were Danny and Tuck. Sam was still asleep on Danny's chest and while Tuck and Danny had moved away from one another a bit, they were still close.

They were whispering softly to one another as Sam slept soundly, the blanket had been kicked away to her waist, showing her and Danny's fingers intertwined on her stomach. She had her head turned so her ear was pressed up against his chest as if she was listening to his heartbeat and her hair sprawled out over his shoulder. When had he gotten so much bigger than Sam? She still remembered when they were the same size and Sam would wear his clothes when she felt like it.

"That's cute." Jack muttered into her ear once he followed her eyes. Maddie absentmindedly nodded her head as she got up and went back over to the screen, staring at the riddle again.

Suddenly Sam started and sat up, trying to blink away the sleepiness in her eyes. She rubbed her amethyst orbs and stretched her arms over her head. She twisted around until she was facing Danny. Maddie watched as Sam look down at Danny, searching for something. Whatever it was, she must have found because she then smiled and snuggled her face into his chest.

He laughed silently before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and automatically placing a kiss into her hair.

"Good morning Sammy." Danny murmured sleepily as she wiggled around to get more comfortable, Chasta pouncing on her and Danny's feet as they moved around. Several students stilled at the nickname, fearful as to what she would do in retaliation. But even their fear and anger didn't stop some of them from wanting to coo at how adorable Sam and Danny looked.

"Morin' Danny-bear." She replied, giggling as Chasta continued to play with her toes.

"Well don't I feel loved." Tucker teased as he scooted close to the duo. Danny grinned over at the cocoa skinned boy while Sam rolled her eyes.

"And how was your sleep, Tutu?" Tucker ignored the nickname.

"Pretty well, snuggles from Sammy-kins are always a treasure." He said cutely, grinning when her face flamed and she buried it in Danny's chest. Danny just laughed and ran his hands through her hair.

"You packed your hair brush, right?" He asked as Tucker grabbed their backpacks and pulled them closer. Sam nodded and swiftly pulled out a green brush before handing it over to Danny. Maddie smiled as he watched Danny gently comb through her hair, each having a contented look on their face.

Cujo suddenly stretched and yawned, causing the trio to sit up. Well, Sam was just kind of putty in Danny's arms, so it was Tuck and Danny that sat up. Cujo popped into puppy form and began scratching behind his ear as the trio resituated themselves to a more comfortable sitting position. Sam was still sitting between Danny's legs, but she was now sitting up on her own and facing away from Danny as he continued to work out the knots in her hair.

"Can you just do a high French braid please?" Sam asked. Danny rolled his eyes before reaching across Sam to grab one of the scrunchies from her wrist. As he began fixing her hair quickly and effortlessly, Lancer had to wonder how many times it was Danny that would do his female friend's hair.

He finished her hair quickly, as she still kept her hair semi-short, and began rifling through her bag until he found a pair of green and gray bobby pins that he quickly slipped into her hair.

"Thanks." She murmured before yawning and stretching again She pulled the remaining hair tie off her wrist and quickly pulled her borrowed shirt into the tie until her belly was on full display.

Lancer raised an eyebrow as Danny began to rub his hands together roughly for a bit before placing them on Sam's bare waist.

"I still don't understand how you do that!" Tucker whined as he watched the two. Danny just shrugged.

"I think it's 'cause of the calluses." Sam slurred, her eyes closed as she took in the warmth. Danny slowly took his large hands off her tiny waist and gripped them together before stretching them behind his head.

Maddie couldn't help the sickened wince when Danny's back repeatedly cracked and popped as he stretched out his limbs. She had always scolded Danny and Jazz for cracking their knuckles around her because the noise grossed her out, but it seems the entire trio was uncaring of their surroundings.

Sam moved while he was stretching until she was sitting opposite of him with Chasta and Cujo both in her lap.

Lancer watched silently as Michelle and Natalia walked over to the trio nervously.

"Hey girls." Danny greeted lazily as he ran his fingers through his hair, grimacing when he'd get caught on a tangle.

"Hey, Danny." Michelle squeaked. Natalia scowled at Michelle before smiling broadly and looking down at the three.

"We were wondering if any of you would like to join us for a bit of yoga this morning." Natalia asked smoothly.

"Or afternoon, we aren't too sure what time it is." Michelle butted in. Sam and Tuck seemed to find Michelle's nervousness amusing. Danny grinned over at his friends.

"What do you say Sam?" He asked as Cujo jumped over and pinned him to the ground. He gave the girls a boyish grin as he allowed the puppy to sit on his stomach and paw at his face as he laid there. Sam snickered and stood up.

"Sure." Sam agreed and helped pull Danny up. Danny hopped up with the help of Sam, his eyes bright.

Most of the girls—with the exception of Cindy—had opted to try some yoga along with Tuck, Mikey and Nathan while the other's just watched. Lana had coerced Jake into it, saying that if Danny would do it, so could he. Maddie had decided against it, opting to just watch Danny and Sam bend and twist with the best of them.

"How the hell can you do that?" Jake cried out as Danny placed his hands flat on the ground and inched until his body was positioned in a full circle, Sam mimicking him. Danny glanced up at Jake with a grin.

"Sam got into extreme yoga during one of her exercise kicks and when Tuck made fun of her she forced us to go with her to the classes." He explained as he stood back up. As the yoga moves got more complex, more and more of the kids stopped trying to get into the poses. In the end the only people left were Michelle, Natalia, Sam and Danny.

"I've always been flexible due to Sam so it's pretty easy to do this.

"That's crazy dude." Jake watched as Danny and Sam, in unison, flipped their legs above their heads and slowly bent their backs until they were in a crescent shape.

"Hey, has anyone figured out the riddle?" Paulina called out as she sat back against the curved wall.

"Oh, Danny did." Tucker answered absentmindedly. "He figured it out yesterday." Danny spun on his heel and glared furiously at Tucker.

"Foley." Danny hissed as everyone else turned to Danny. Sam walked over and slapped Tucker over the back of his head.

"Are you stupid, Tucker?" She hissed. Gillian and Dash busted out laughing.

"That was hilarious dude." Gillian cracked as he hugged his stomach in mirth.

"Yeah, Fenton couldn't figure this out!" Danny flushed when half the room began laughing.

"1:45" He hissed out, his eyes flashing quickly before turning to their normal blue. Maddie blinked.

"What?" Maddie mouthed. Danny groaned.

"The _answer_ is 1:45. The man gave away a total of 25 cents. He divided it between two people. Therefore, he gave a quarter to two. A quarter till two. It's a play on words." Sam smirked when Lancer padded over and typed the number in. Everyone was quiet as the screen flashed green and a new riddle appeared.

"How did you know dude?" Jake hissed, staring at the screen. Danny shrugged.

"It just sounded obvious." Danny sat down quietly. Sam sat next to him and placed a hand on his thigh. Lancer cleared his throat.

"There is a shop." He began loudly. "That has a sign that reads" Buy 1 for $1.00, 10 for $2.00, and 100 for $3.00." Lancer scrunched his nose. "I needed 913 and still only $3.00. How could this be financially viable for the shop-keeper?" Danny stared at the screen, his head cocked to the side like the puppy in his lap. Paulina silently aww'd at how adorable he looked before glaring at Gothica.

She didn't deserve Danny. Gothica was constantly pulling him down and forcing him to do her bidding. Just like he said about the yoga, she forced him to do things. She's constantly dragging him and the techno-geek around like they're her pets. If she joins a club, they have to. And the way she was forcing herself on him this morning was disgusting! Could she get any more obvious with that stupid crush of hers? Paulina pouted and crossed her arms before looking back up at the screen. This was almost as stupid as the one before!

Maddie stared down at her son in amazement. How did he just _get_ that? Maddie had spent all afternoon yesterday trying to figure it out, and here Danny had just spurted off the answer with a logical reason. And apparently he figured it out yesterday.

"Have you got a clue, Danny boy?" Jack asked, looking over at his son with a proud smile. He didn't know how Danny figured it out and had been as shocked as the others, but he was still proud of his son. He was happy Danny had been able to give the answer, but felt guilty that he was so shocked that he had known the answer.

"Hmm?" He had been holding his sketchbook on his lap for the past twenty minutes and staring at his two friends. Every now and again he would do something in his sketchbook, but then he'd go back to staring at his friends. They had noticed his staring but had smiled at each other before turning back to what they were doing.

Tucker had been able to get his PDA to start working again and was busy trying to tune into the right wavelength to connect to the Fenton Portal and notify Jazz to throw the boo-merang into the portal.

Jack stared down into his son's sapphire orbs. Maddie always insisted Danny had his own aquamarine eyes, but Jack had always, always, believed Danny was the exact replica of Maddie's little brother. The pictures from when Dan was younger could have been Danny himself. There was a time Jack had liked that idea. But after Dan had gotten deep into drugs and alcohol, Jack was _terrified _his son would follow in his uncle's footsteps.

"The newest riddle." Jack stated. "Do you have an idea as to what the answer is?" Danny's eyes flickered past him and to the screen. Jack watched Danny's eyes race across the screen at an alarming pace before a twinkle of mirth shone in his eye.

"Brother Time is hilarious." He deadpanned before getting up, leaving his sketchbook on the ground, Cujo and Chasta both padding behind him. Jack followed closely behind as he stood next to Maddie, who had the keyboard.

"He's messing with us. I asked him this same riddle last time I saw him." Danny stuck his hand out for the keyboard. Maddie quickly handed it over and stood silently as Danny typed in the correct answer and a new riddle appeared.

"Dude, what was the answer?" Kwan asked, standing close to the mother and son. Tucker cleared his throat.

"They are house numbers and it is $1.00 per digit." Murmurs of 'oh' ran through the room.

"Danny got into riddles last month and was constantly asking us different riddles whenever he could. At first we thought someone had possessed him or something with how bad it was, but then we realized it was just or very own weirdo." Sam explained as she twisted a knob on the PDA. Danny rolled his eyes before turning back to the newest riddle.

"If you throw me from the window, I will leave a grieving wife. Bring me back, but in the door, and you'll see someone giving life! What am I?" Danny snickered. Sam giggled from her spot, not even bothering to look up.

"This one was so stupid. It's the letter "n". Without that letter, window becomes widow, which is a grieving wife. And if you put the letter into door, it becomes donor, who helps bring new life in." Danny explained as he typed it in. This time, no new riddle appeared. Instead, a picture of a bunch of x's and o's appeared along with some arrows. Danny backed up.

"Nope, this is not my jurisdiction. If you need me, I'll be back over there." Danny exclaimed as he jutted his thumb back to his sketchbook. Once he sat back down, Jack turned to see Kwan, Gillian, and Dash eagerly digesting the familiar information.

* * *

"This is definitely a football play." Gillian mumbled. It had already been half an hour and none of the teens knew what to do.

"But I've never seen one like this before!" Dash exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Yeah, this wouldn't even be an ideal play. The way the Quarterback swivels around would just get in the dude tackled. The dude would be seeing stars for days after doing a play like this!" Lancer wanted to cry. Those three jocks were their only way to get past this, and they couldn't even help! They'd be stuck here forever if someone didn't find a way out soon.

Tucker gasped and began sniffing the air furiously.

"Does anyone else" sniff "smell that?" Sniff sniff. Danny scrunched his nose.

"It's bacon. I think it's coming from the air vents in the ceiling." Everyone jumped as a large table and chairs began appearing along with the stronger smell of breakfast foods. Maddie and Jack began charging their guns again, momentarily stopping when Danny stretched and plopped himself at the head of the table. Sam sat to his right while Tucker sat to his left.

"Chill, guys. He's going to feed us." Tucker exclaimed cheerily as food began to appear on the table along with name tags. Danny's appeared where he was sitting as did Sam and Tucker's. It was almost uncanny at how they just knew all of this.

"The last time we got stuck here, he had dinner with us and we talked about anything and everything." Danny explained as everyone began to take their seats. Maddie and Jack were two of the last ones to sit, too weary about all of this.

Tucker began to fill his plate to the brim with food while Sam took a better proportioned size. Danny grabbed the two bowls that had appeared for Chasta and Cujo and filled them with food before working on his own plate. Everyone soon followed the trio, ravenous as the smell of food wafted around the room.

"Um, Sam?" Lana called out. "There's a carton of milk with your name on it." Lana handed the carton down the kids until it reached Sam.

"Ultra-recyclo approved soy milk." Sam read the carton before pulling the paper off and reading the note. She quickly handed it to Danny with an amused grin.

"What does it say?" Natalia asked after swallowing her eggs. Danny looked up quickly before looking back down at the note.

"Heard you refuse to consume or use anything that used to have a face, so I thought I'd." Danny paused. "I thought I'd drop this off to suit your tastes." Danny grinned before placing the note in his pocket.

"Tucker's got one too!" Valerie called out as she lifted a large plate of sausage, bacon, and ham. Tucker was quick to snatch the meat out of her hands before tossing the note to Danny and devouring the meat quickly.

"I've heard stories about the fights you would get in defending your love of meat and thought you'd appreciate a breakfast fit for the carnivore you are." Danny smirked and glanced over at Tucker in amusement.

"It seems that Brother Time actually listened." Tuck and Sam both grinned at their best friend before continuing with their breakfast. Maddie cleared her throat. She had been nervous about eating the food, but once the kids began digging in, she thought it wouldn't hurt her to eat something.

"Listened to what, Sweetie?" Maddie asked hesitantly. Danny's head snapped up and his sapphire orbs widened.

"We've talked to Brother Time before." Maddie frowned.

"Honey, I've told you this before. You can't trust a ghost." Danny scowled before tucking Tuck's note into his pocket as well.

"Why are there star-shaped pancakes and waffles?" Mikey asked suddenly, poking at the stack of star-shaped fluffy hotcakes with his fork. Michelle rolled his eyes.

"Why does it matter? Just be thankful we've got food and don't question it."

"Maybe it's a metaphor, you know?" Lana mumbled as she played with her food.

"Telling us that we're going to join the heavens soon or something?" Paulina sneered. Lana glared at her and opened her mouth to retort when there was a loud clink of something metal hitting a plate. Everyone turned to see Danny staring up at the screen with a sardonic grin.

"He just loves to mess with me." Danny grumbled before he pushed his chair out and quickly grabbed his sketchbook along with pencils. He flipped to the back where he had a bunch of half-drawn filler pages and put one in front of each of the football players.

"Dude, why are we looking at your drawings?" Dash asked as Danny placed a pencil next to each one.

"Wow, these are really good, Fenton." Star exclaimed from her spot next to Kwan. Danny blushed and thanked her.

"Ignore the doodles, I just don't want to rip a clean sheet from my sketchbook for this." Danny murmured before stopping in front of the screen.

"What's going on in that complex brain of yours, Danny?" Sam murmured as she sat in her seat, watching her best friend stare at television.

"I may be wrong, but I need you guys to each draw out these plays. Dot the page to where they go and connect the dots." Danny instructed as he walked over to his seat.

"Danny?" Tucker questioned as the three jocks began slaving away.

"Before he sent us here, he had mentioned my interest in astronomy." Danny started. Sam nodded.

"Yeah, he called you young astronomer." Danny grimaced and nodded.

"Anyway." Danny drawled. "He talked about my interest in astronomy, and then the star pancakes?" Danny shook his head. "He's been taking it way too easy on us. He obviously wants us to pass." Tuck snorted.

"Dude, he's going easy on _you_." Tucker mumbled around his food. Sam scrunched her nose in disgust.

"Swallow before you speak, Foley." She bit before turning to Danny. "But he's right. He isn't too concerned whether we pass or not. He's got that soft spot for you that Clockwork seems to have." Danny flushed and rolled his eyes.

"Nah." Danny shrugged before picking up each of the papers. His eyes widened before he placed them all three on the table.

"Just as I thought." He murmured. Tuck and Sam both crowded around him and focused on the pictures.

"What going on?" Lancer asked as Danny began muttering to the two and tracing different patterns.

"They each drew something different." Danny said as the three held up a sheet. Once everyone stopped staring at the detailed drawings that Danny had considered 'doodles', they noticed that each of the drawings were different.

"So what does that mean?" Mikey asked nervously. The trio placed the sheets back on the table.

"They're constellations, aren't they Danny?" Sam asked, staring over at the young halfa. He nodded with a grin.

"And I believe I know which ones."

* * *

Everyone watched as Danny rifled through his sketchbook several times before landing on a picture full of dolphins, horses, doves, fish, rivers, a compass, and a ship. Every piece was detailed wonderfully, leaving everyone in silent awe at the teen's talent.

"The Heavenly Waters." Danny stated. "Also known as the Cosmic Waters is a constellation family of nine." Danny pulled the jocks' drawings close.

"The three you guys drew are the Delphinus, the Columba, and the Equuleus." Sam cleared her throat, causing Danny to look up. Once he noticed the blank stares from his peers he blushed and looked back down.

"The Dolphin, The Dove, and The Horse respectively to the Latin names I said." He mumbled as he leafed through his book. He stopped on a large colored picture of a dolphin in an ocean with a beautiful girl with long white hair with aquamarine blue eyes smiling down to the dolphin. She was sitting on a rock underneath a large cliff with waves crashing against her white gown. She looked like she had been crying but was being comforted by the dolphin.

"Astronomy and Mythology coincide a lot so learning about the stars had me learning about the Greek gods and goddesses of Olympus." Danny explained as he set the booklet down.

"So do you think the answer is Heavens Comics or whatever?" Dash asked. Danny looked up and shook his head.

"Heavenly Waters, Dash, and no I don't think it is. I mean, you can try it, but I'll be shocked if it is correct." Kwan quickly walked over and typed the words in. No one was too shocked when the screen flashed red, but they sure were disappointed.

"When did you learn how to draw, Fenton?" Paulina cried, finally taking a look at the drawing he had been looking at. Danny blushed and scratched the back of his head.

"I don't know. I've always just kind of drawn." Paulina just barely stopped herself from swooning. Artistic talents went a long way with her, and on top of the fact that she thought he was already cute just added to her infatuation on him. She had a feeling that after this trip, he'd be extremely hard for her to resist.

"Anyway." Tucker stated, an amused grin on his lips. Danny cleared his throat and nodded.

"Anyway, according to a popular myth circulating the dolphin." Danny pointed down to the corner of the page where a seal with a trident sitting in the center. "Poseidon fell in love with Amphitrite, a beautiful nereid—a daughter of Nereus who was the eldest son of the earth and the sea—but she didn't want to marry Poseidon. She was determined to keep her virginity so she fled to the Atlas Mountains to escape him." Gillian snickered, but silenced when Lana elbowed him.

"The dolphin Delphinus found her on accident and was able to convince her to accept Poseidon's pursuit. So out of gratitude, Poseidon placed the image of a dolphin among the stars to honor Delphinus helping him." Maddie was impressed with Danny's knowledge of this.

Danny quickly pulled his sketchbook back to him and leafed through until he found his next picture. It was also colored, but of a nondescript man in robes staring out of a large wooden boat at a white dove holding a branch in its mouth. The water brushed against the arch violently, causing the boat to be tilted off to the side.

"Now, Columba—the dove—is told to have been Noah's dove and informed Noah the flood was receding by holding an olive branch in its beak." Sam hummed something absentmindedly.

"And what is with the horse?" Jack asked. Sam pulled the sketchbook and changed it to a small white foal with his head tilted down while a large, bloody, winged horse stood above the foal in a stance that showed its superiority. A decapitated head was laying on the floor with snake-like hair falling dead around the shocked face where the blood seemed to be leaking from. There seemed to be a set of twins in a sort of pose that one in a white dress was breaking from to reach for the foal.

"Well, one myth associates Equuleus—the horse but more specifically the little horse or foal —with the foal Celeris, who was the brother of the winged horse Pegasus, who was born from the blood of the decapitated Medusa. It was rumored that Celeris was given to Castor—one of the Gemini twins—by Hermes as a wedding gift." Sam sighed and sat on the arm rest of Danny's chair.

"Okay, but what is connecting the three? Rather than the fact they're in the same family, that is." Tuck tapped his chin.

"Well, there's the marriage thing. While you didn't say outright with Columba, an olive branch symbolizes several things." Sam nodded.

"An olive branch usually symbolizes peace or victory, but was historically worn by brides." Danny nodded in agreement.

"So do you think it has something to do with a bride?" Valerie asked. Everyone had given up on trying to help them, instead they sat there in amazement as the trio nonchalantly worked through this.

"Brother Time had mentioned a bride once." Danny murmured. "He had called her Kalika, not to be mistaken for the Hindu Goddess associated with empowerment." Danny closed his eyes.

"She had been the Bride of Time long ago." Danny rubbed his forehead. "It was before Clockwork and Brother Time had died. While Clockwork and stop time altogether and change things around, Brother Time can only slow or speed time up to an extent." Maddie gasped.

"Do you mean?" Danny shot her an amused look.

"Yeah, Clockwork is what the humans call Father Time or the sandman. He can literally stop time and change things at will." Maddie looked shaken.

"His job is to keep the balance in the world. If bad outdoes the good or the good outdoes the bad then it's his job to fix everything. The observants only see everything as a parade from the sidelines. They only focus on one thing at a time while Clockwork sees the parade from above. He sees all the twists and turns that the parade could have taken, and how those possibilities could have gone." Danny flipped through his sketchbook absentmindedly.

"Clockwork is a passive ghost, only interfering when he's needed. Brother time is just as passive as him, but he isn't as powerful. He can only speed or slow time so when you feel like a day drags on or one goes too fast, it's because it actually is." Maddie didn't like that one bit.

"Anyways, Father Time is not allowed to have a lover, or a mate, so when he found and fell in love with Kali, things changed and he was terminated. Kali was the goddess of time in her realm and after having her love destroyed, she attacked the Ghost Zone and ruled for years before the ghosts were able to take back control of the Zone." Danny sighed and leaned back into his chair. Sam placed a hand on his shoulder as she leafed through his sketchbook. She flipped it opened to another page and glanced over at Danny, who nodded.

She placed it on the table, facing the group. There was a green skinned, four-armed woman with a dress made out of bones. There were different ghosts laying broken on the ground under her feet.

"We should try Kali's name, right?" Lancer asked, unsure if that is what they were getting at." Danny shook his head.

"No, Kali was used by everyone, but her lover. Father Time called her Kalika so try that." Everyone was quiet as the screen flashed green before shutting off completely. The long since forgotten food began to disappear as everyone sat watching the trio in amazement.

"I think." Sam murmured. "he was trying to get us to understand that even those who are evil could have easily been good. That it only takes a certain amount of pain to turn anyone evil." Danny flinched and turned to face the floor, figuring the edges of his sketchbook uncomfortably.

Everyone jumped when the sound of someone knocking on something resounded around the room. Everyone glanced around until Jake jumped up and pointed at a wall.

"We've got a door!" He exclaimed. Everyone had grabbed their bags and got ready to leave. Jack slowly opened the door and was relieved to see the bridge. Everyone filed out and stood in front of the bridge. Brother Time appeared again, a huge grin on his face.

* * *

"Good job, my young astronomer." Brother Time smiled down. Danny smiled back up and nodded.

"I told you I listened to you." Danny teased back. Brother Time chucked before moving to the side.

"I visited my brother and I brought you back a message from him." Danny stood up straight, Sam and Tuck close to his side.

"He told me that you must be careful. Walker is on the search. Neutral territory does not always mean safe." Sam growled. With that Brother Time disappeared. Danny groaned before walking across the bridge.

"Come on guys, we've lost a lot of time in there." Danny called out, refusing to answer the questions his parents threw his way.

"It'll be a while until we can reach Dora's so we need to keep a strong pace." No one missed how close both Tucker and Sam stood to Danny as they walked.

Jack and Maddie glanced at each other nervously. They had so many questions for their son, and yet Danny wouldn't speak!

Lancer stared down at the ground. Things were getting more and more serious and it seemed Danny's secret was a lot bigger than Lancer first anticipated. And as he watched his three favorite students huddle close together, he felt in his rather round gut that things weren't even close to over yet.

No, the worst had yet to come.

* * *

**_So someone posted an idea I liked, but it wasn't going to fit in with what I had planned for this chapter, but I hope to incorporate the idea soon so please be patient!_**

**_Reviews are always welcomed!_**

**_~WildFireBurnsTheForest_**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Warning: violence and Danny being tortured in this chapter, along with talks about abuse and a little bit of underage drinking. **_

_**You've been warned.**_

_**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, lyrics, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plots are the intellectual property of the author(s). The author(s) is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended, nor should any be inferred. No profit is being made.**_

* * *

As they crossed the bridge, the noise that had returned once they were out of the room, disappeared altogether, leaving a relieved group in its wake. Danny suddenly took a sharp turn off the path and stopped.

"Due to us having to change routes thanks to the plant incident, we're closer to Dora's lair than we are to Frostbite so we'll go to her and see if she can help us get to him." Maddie frowned.

"Who are these things you talk about and why are you so determined to get to this Frostbite's lair?" She demanded. Jack bit his lip. She had promised that she would try and let up on the boy, and yet this entire trip she had been nothing but hard on him. It was starting to drive Jack up the wall with her mood shifts.

"First off, don't call them things." Danny snapped. "They are different ghosts that have helped me immensely in the past. And I need to get to the Far Frozen because Frostbite and his tribe have an infi-map that will help us get back home sooner. Plus I would like to talk to him about something while we are still here." Danny rubbed his forehead roughly. His headache was getting worse as he stressed out about Walker. He had a feeling there wasn't a way to avoid the prison warden, but he hoped to get everyone safe before he came, that way Danny could go ghost and kick Walker butt.

"Well excuse you." Maddie huffed. Danny just sighed again. Sam bumped her shoulder to his to get his attention. He looked down at the petite Goth with appraising eyes. She smiled softly and placed a hand on his arm. He smiled back appreciatively before looking up to the sky.

"Is everyone ready to leave?" He asked abruptly. Every peer and adult nodded quietly, waiting for Danny to take the lead.

"How long do you think it'll take us to get to this Dora ghost?" Star asked. Sam tensed.

"It would be best for you to address her as Princess Dorathea." Sam suggested nervously. Dash snorted.

"Why? Fenton isn't so why should we?" Tuck stared back at Dash.

"There's a difference between you and Danny. The respect Danny gives Princess Dorathea is completely different compared to the respect she deserves from you." Tucker spat out, eyes steely. Lancer raised an eyebrow carefully.

"Danny saved her and is seen as an equal, if not a superior, to Princess Dora." Sam spoke slowly giving Danny a side-glance as she felt the anger pouring off of him as they discussed the princess of Aragon.

The relationship between those two had been startling at first. Sam had, at first, wondered if there was something romantic going on between the ghost princess and the halfa, but as more time went by, she understood. He had taken over the role as Princess Dora's brother.

She had been torn down and abused by her brother for too long. Danny saved the Princess physically and emotionally, causing her to latch on to him as the first male to ever treat her properly.

Danny snapped his gaze over to Sam's for a moment, blushing when he felt pride coursing to him through the link. He had been confused at who she might be feeling this for, maybe Tucker for standing up for Dora's respect? But then he got a glimpse of her thoughts and was shocked and bashful.

Tuck smiled and patted Danny's shoulder.

"You're special, Sir Fenton!" Sam giggled as Danny blushed once again.

"Shut up man." He hissed, shoving Tucker away, ultimately breaking the serious atmosphere.

"Sir Fenton?" Maddie hissed, pushing in front of Danny to stop him. Danny rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Um, Dora knighted me once she overthrew Aragon." He mumbled out, glancing up into the air every so often as if searching for something.

"That's wonderful, my boy!" Jack boasted as he pulled his wife back into the group. Danny smiled over at his father before continuing with their walk, something obviously bothering Danny.

* * *

They had been walking for several hours when Danny had finally called for a break so Cujo could fetch them food.

"How much longer do you think until we are to Princess Dorathea's lair?" Tuck asked around a mouth full of food. Peanut butter sandwiches had been served for almost everyone. Danny and Sam were sharing a large can of ultra-recylco vegetarian approved spaghetti-os, much to groups' amusement.

Danny quickly swallowed his food, much to Maddie's approval, before speaking.

"If we don't get interrupted, we should be there in about two and a half hours, tops." Sam sighed in relief as she leaned close to Danny, Chasta sleeping peacefully in her lap. Cujo was currently going around scavenging any scraps he could from the students. It shocked the kids when Cujo hadn't just eaten it all, but had continuously dropped pieces in front of Chasta for her to eat.

Danny gasped and shivered causing Sam and Tucker to look up to the sky.

"BEWARE!" Everyone jumped as a familiar spectral appeared above them.

"Oh, god!" Danny cried as the Box Ghost appeared with the Lunch Lady. "That's something I didn't want to see." He groaned. They must have been out on a date. Yuck!

"I am the Box Ghost. I have power over all containers cardboard and square!" Lancer watched as Danny groaned and laid back.

"Listen dude. It's obvious you two are on a date." Danny began. "And you don't want to mess that up, right?" The Box Ghost stilled as Lunch Lady came closer.

"You promised me that we would go see the new Phantom exhibit!" She screeched. Danny sat up straight while his friends began laughing.

"Anyway!" Danny said loudly, a blush creeping on his face. "I won't suck you in the thermos if you leave now and don't bother me." Box Ghost glanced at his girlfriend before slumping and nodding.

"I will leave you and you entourage for now. But beware! For I am The Box Ghost, and I will have my corrugated cardboard vengeance!" He glanced around at the wide-eyed group before speeding off, Lunch Lady hot on his tail. Sam and Tucker had finally stopped laughing enough to poke at Danny.

"Okay, is everyone done?" Danny yelled out, standing up hurriedly. Everyone took in his urgent expression.

"Why? We haven't even been here long!" Kwan cried out, as Sam and Tuck quickly complied and began cleaning their garbage up.

"I don't know if Box Ghost is going to tip off anyone that we're here." Danny explained frantically, eyes jumping around in the sky, gasping repeatedly.

"Too late for that, Punk!" Danny jumped and spun, causing everyone else to as well.

"Walker." Danny hissed viciously. Before anyone could do much else, there were several ghosts on them, placing clothes over their faces. No one could get them off, even Danny. Eventually everyone slowly began fading out. Danny's eyes grew green until in anger.

As Danny lost consciousness, his eyes flickered in and out weakly until he was at the mercy of the ghosts.

* * *

Valerie groaned in pain as she blinked her eyes opened. She sat up slowly, aware of the pounding headache, and noticed her peers were doing the same thing. There were curses, cries, and groans of pain as a few more students awoke.

"Where's Danny?" Sam cried out loudly frantically looking around the small cell that imprisoned her class.

Paulina gasped as she pointed over to the opposite wall that was slowly disappearing. And there, chained by his arms to the wall, was Danny Fenton.

"Danny!" Sam screeched, trying to get over to him, only to be stopped by some invisible wall. Danny's head snapped up and what everyone saw caused gasps to fly from their mouths. There was Fenton, chained to a wall, and looking like he was just run over by a semi. His clothes were tattered and his button up shirt was missing. His body was battered and bruised. Blood was running from his mouth and his hair was matted horribly.

He was down on his knees, the green glowing cuffs around his wrists digging into his raw skin as if he didn't have the strength to hold himself up. Blood tricked down his forearms as the cuts on his wrists deepened. His whole body showed signed of defeat. But when he looked over at the class, his eyes glowed bright with strength, determination, and defiance.

"I'm fine Sam." He hissed out before spitting a blob of blood from his mouth. His breathing was wheezy and his voice was hoarse, causing Maddie not to believe him. Sam held strong as she felt his words through their link. Sure, he was a bit beaten up, but they all knew he had gone through worse. She could feel his body healing itself as he stared at her.

Sam looked down and closed her eyes. Maybe if she could focus enough, she could literally send some energy to him to help him heal.

"Don't Sam." He called out, reading her idea through the bond.

"Why? You really need it!" She exclaimed. Danny shook his head. Everyone just looked back and forth between the two friends as if they were a tennis match.

"I'll be fine, but you're going to need your energy soon." Sam grimaced, but felt deep into the partially blocked link, trying to understand what he was getting at. Her eyes widened when she felt that he had some sort of plan. They just had to be patient. She nodded slowly before whispering something into Tuck's ear.

"I don't like this." He grumbled, glaring over at the now standing teen. Danny shrugged nonchalantly.

"I don't know his full plan yet, so we need to be careful." Danny muttered, staring around the cell they were in.

Lancer blinked. _What?_

"What happened to you, baby?" Maddie cried out as she pressed herself against the invisible barrier between her and her baby boy. Danny glanced over at his mother in shock, as if he we surprised to see her there.

"Mom, calm down." He murmured before grinning at her. "Everything looks a lot worse than it actually is." Maddie began pushing against the barrier, trying to find some weakness in it. When she got ready to bang on it, Danny yelled for her not to. But it was too late.

As soon as she slammed her first on to the wall, there was a flash on near Danny and he groaned a suppressed scream. Maddie watched in agony as electricity poured through the cuffs and into Danny's body mercilessly. As sudden as the light came, it left, leaving a panting raven-haired teen back on his knees.

"I don't." He breathed heavily before coughing up more blood. "I don't understand everyone's need to electrocute me!" He whined before turning his head over to Maddie.

"Every time you hit the shield, it'll electrocute me." He informed through pants. Maddie recoiled from the wall, only to trip over her unconscious husband and fall to the ground.

"Mom!" Danny called out as Sam and Tuck raced over to help her up. Once she was pulled back up, she brushed herself off.

"I'm so sorry Danny." She cried, tears forming in her eyes as she watched her baby boy struggled against the chains as he tried to get to her. Danny slumped against the wall with a sigh.

"It's not your fault, mom." He whispered. Sam walked back up to the shield and placed a hand on it, frowning as colors lit the shield where her hand was. When she pulled her hand away, the warm colors in the shape of her palm and figures were shown there for a moment before it disappeared, leaving nothing behind.

"Heat sensitive." Danny murmured out loud. "Interesting." Danny quickly stared over at Tucker.

"Get everyone up and make sure they're alive and doing fine. I need everyone to be okay before we can do anything else." Tucker took the instructions in stride and began to shake people before Danny was even done with his order.

As people began waking up, noise filled the room with cries of shock and dismay. Most of which were directed at Danny when they finally noticed the chained-up teen. Jack was about ready to blast the shield when Maddie and Sam stopped him in his tracks. Everyone was horrified at the condition of Danny; most of the girls had hidden their faces, unable to take the gory scene anymore. Even the guys were sickened by it. The only ones who seemed to be calm were Sam and Tucker, who had taken to standing up against the shield and were talking in muted voices to one another. They seemed too calm in most of the groups' opinions.

"Well isn't this nice, boy. We have an audience now." Paulina jumped at the booming voice, tears already streaming down her face as she stared over at Danny. Even she couldn't pretend not to care about Danny anymore. Star and Lana were already having panicky-like attacks due to his condition.

The group watched as Tuck barely held Sam back as she tried to fling herself at the shield, curses flying past her lips quicker than any one person could comprehend. Danny had taken the time to stand up tall, a look of defiance and hatred painted on his face.

"Walker." He hissed out viciously, glaring at the ghost. Maddie held tightly to Jack as she noticed the whip in his hand. Walker just smirked as the humans flinched when he flicked his whip against the air.

Sam hissed more profanities at him as Walked came close to the shield.

"How cute, your little girlfriend thinks she can take me on." Walker then turned back to the main target, a smirk on his face he got up close to Danny's face.

"You're not such a tough guy now, are ya, halfa." Danny scowled before spitting in his face. Walker roared and backed away as he wiped his eyes. Dash's whole body shook as he watched Fenton glared over at the ghost in so much courage.

Lancer blinked. _Halfa?_

"You're gonna pay for that, punk." Walker hissed before cracking the whip against Danny's stomach. The girls screamed when whip tore across Danny's abdomen, shredding what was left of his shirt. Blood smeared over his abs as he suppressed a groan of pain. Sam quickly slumped in Tucker's arms and closed her eyes.

"Wow, Walker. You're losing your touch." Danny teased as he stood strong and tall, a smirk painted on his lips. Walker growled inhumanely before striking Danny across his cheek. Danny's head hung for a minute before he spat the blood out of his mouth.

"Do you seriously get so bored in the Ghost Zone that you have to resort to torturing a fifteen year old kid?" Danny asked before spitting more blood out. "Dang, I really hate the taste of blood." He scrunched his nose in distaste before looking up at Walker, who was smiling in joy.

"It's kind of depressing you get pleasure from beating a kid up." He mumbled as he leaned against the wall nonchalantly, as if he couldn't be bothered by the beating he was taking. Gillian was horrified, and confused as Danny just took the attacks and still back-talked. Why was he taunting the ghost? Where was the wimpy kid he bullied every chance he got?

"Well, when that kid is a convict who owes me 1,000 years." Walker paused. "I take that back, you owe me more after you caused the riot and mass break-out. I lost some important prisoners because of you." Walker hissed before hitting Danny with the whip again, right where he had before. Danny just chuckled darkly. Jack blanched. _His_ son had been locked away in this prison before? _And_ he led a prison break-out? He didn't know if he should be proud or scared.

"I had to get Mom's present back. I would have simply grabbed the box and left without any trouble on your part, but you just had to throw me in jail." Danny accused, his breath labored. Paulina held jumped when she felt arms wrap around her. She turned to see Valerie holding her tight, tears falling down her ebony cheeks. For once, Paulina didn't make a snide comment, but instead held back just as tightly.

Gillian had Sarah encircled in his arms protectively, just as any good brother would do. Sure, they were both cruel people by nature, but this was a type of torture they could never handle. They had never liked Danny, just on principal that he wasn't as well off as they were. But never in a million years would they _ever_ wish something like this on someone.

Lancer stood stalk-still, as Danny continued to egg the vicious ghost on, like he wasn't bothered about getting beat on. He watched, horrified, while Walker continued his assault on Danny as Danny just looked amused.

"So how has your afterlife been treating you, Walky?" Danny asked as he looked over Walker's shoulder and over at Sam, who had been staring at him unblinkingly. Lancer watched, noticing that Danny seemed to be drawing strength from the silent Goth who was being held by his techno-loving best friend.

"Has it been so unsatisfying that you have dedicated your time to trying to get me under your control. Jeez, you're almost as wacked as the main fruitloop." He snickered to himself at Walker's stunned face before it disappeared as Walker pressed a button on a remote he pulled out of his pocket.

Maddie screamed as her son was electrocuted again, terrified she was going to lose he baby.

"Please stop! I'm the ghost hunter, not him! Leave him alone, I'm the one you're after!" Walker stopped the torture long enough to turn and face Maddie with an amused grin on his face.

"I know very well who you are, Dr. Fenton." Walker blurted. "But I assure you, I've got the right hunter over here at my disposal." He chuckled wickedly before turning back to the fried boy, who was kneeling on one knee as he tried to regain his footing.

Hunter? Maddie scrunched her eyebrows. Danny didn't hunt ghosts! He ran far, far away from them! Walker raised an eyebrow at her reaction.

"It seems they don't know, do they punk?" Danny snorted.

"Right, you wouldn't even get the privilege of torturing me if they did. I would have already been dead and dissected." Walker busted out in a full-belly laugh as Maddie and Jack looked at each other in confusion. Danny narrowed his eyes. "Though I don't see how it's any business of yours."

"It's no benefit of mine to tell them. I _like_ their agony at seeing you like this. But it is interesting how little you trust your own family." Danny snorted roughly.

"I trust _my_ family more than anything." He hissed. Walker just chuckled.

"The one you created, correct? Your sister, you girlfriend, your friend, your uncle, oh and let's not forget your clone, Danielle." Sam was jolted from her stupor at the name of Danielle. She once again tried to launch herself over at the shield, but Tucker kept his grip tightly around her waist. Danny's eyes widened before narrowing to slits, causing a shiver of fear to fall over his peers. Who knew Danny could look so dangerous.

But Maddie just sat there in hurt and in denial. He had just said _his_ family, and yet neither she nor Jack was mentioned. Did he not trust them? Were they that horrible of parents that he didn't trust them to protect their baby boy? And Danny only had one uncle—Dan—who Danny hadn't talked to in almost seven years! She then blinked and digested the rest their conversation.

'_Oh, and let's not forget your clone, Danielle.'_

But cloning wasn't even possible yet! And she would have known if Danny had been cloned. There wouldn't have been another way for anyone to get Danny's DNA without her permission!

"How do you know about her?" He hissed, his body shaking in anger. Walker smirked.

Maddie tried to stop herself from hyperventilating. He had pretty much admitted he had been cloned. And he seemed to be really protective of this clone.

"It's interesting to what kind of details I can get from Plasmius for the right price." He said, leaning close to Danny's face. Danny flashed his eyes green at Walker before gripping the chains and using them as leverage to lift his legs up close to him. This all happened within seconds and Walker was completely off guard when Danny slammed his feet in the fully corporal spectral, sending him flying into the shield.

"Don't you dare touch her!" Danny hollered as he sent Walker flying back.

Danny watched in satisfaction as Walker slammed violently against it, causing the shield to gain blue cracks that spread throughout the invisible wall.

Even better was that it didn't electrocute him. But that victory was short lived as Walker got up and pressed the remote that actually did electrocute him. Once he stopped it, Danny was kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily as blood ran down his body.

"Why do you ghosts always insist on electrocuting me?" He hissed as Walker moseyed over to a metal table and grabbed something off of it.

"Because it's fun to watch you keel over in pain." Walker answered as turned on the stick-like weapon. "And your humans' reactions are interesting." Danny scrunched his nose as he watched Walker wearily.

"They aren't my humans, Walker. I don't own them. That's not how earth and humans work, remember? You were once human too. Probably never brushed your teeth with the way your breath stinks now. I was serious when I said you need a breath mint." Danny kept his eyes on an advancing Walker as he continued to speak.

"Dude, I think I actually have a breath mint in my pocket. You would _seriously _benefit from o—ahh!" He was cut off as Walker shoved the stick against Danny's skin. Lana had to cover her nose from gagging as the smell of burning flesh met her nostrils. Most of the group was in similar states of disgust while Sam screamed with Danny, falling to her knees as if she were the one taking the blow.

Dash's eyes widened. And maybe she was. He had always believed that the psychic link between the two losers had been real, and as he watched Danny and Sam both doubled over in pain he knew it was. Danny's eyes widened when he noticed Sam on her knees in pain. He, miraculously, stopped screaming as he closed his eyes and concentrated on blocking the link. He couldn't let her feel this pain, it wasn't fair to her. Just as quickly as she began screaming, she stopped, tears streaming down her face as she tried to regain her thoughts and feelings. Tucker held her tight as she collapsed in his arms.

"I'm so sorry Sammy." He sent through the link before he shut her completely out and reopened his eyes, unshed tears being pushed back as Walker finally pulled away. Everyone gasped in horror as they noticed that he hadn't just burned Danny's skin, he had _branded _Danny's left hip. The red, raw words _'OBEY'_ were etched into Danny's skin.

Danny threw his head back in pain as he tried to regain his breath. He already knew what it said and he just couldn't look at it. This wasn't the first time Walker had tried to brand him, but it was the first time he succeeded. Danny could feel the words burned into his skin.

"You really should learn when to shut your mouth, punk." Danny flashed his eyes angrily at Walker, forgetting that his classmates were there. And, quite frankly, he just didn't care anymore.

"You're a sick bastard, you know that?" Maddie flinched. Danny was never one to cuss and she had to admit that she was quite thankful. Most kids his age could list off a string of words that could make a sailor blush and she didn't like hearing them come from her son's mouth. Luckily, he kept it clean on his own. She guessed it just wasn't in her son's personality. This was the first time she had heard such a word from her son, and she completely agreed with him.

Walker chuckled happily as he went back over to the table, turning his back to his subject. It was silent sans the labored breath and the crying. Everyone turned their heads back over to Danny, sickened by his condition, but curious as to what was happening.

Danny seemed to be observing the cuffs and their connection to the wall, which was by two loops in the chains that linked around hooks that were sticking out of the wall. He glanced back over to Walker, who began working on cutting something with a sharpener, more than likely the dagger he had stolen from Danny the last time they fought.

Danny nodded to himself and quickly began flicking the chains, trying to unloop them from the hooks. He quickly got one down and stilled when it clanked to the ground. When Walker didn't even make a move to turn around, completely oblivious, Danny began working on his other chain. Just as quickly, Danny got that one down, relieved Walker's twisted ways kept him from getting more modern torturing equipment.

He zoomed over to his backpack that Walker had carelessly left in the room before getting the Fenton lipstick laser out and cutting his chains. The entire time, the class stayed frozen, terrified that if they made a noise, Walker would catch Danny and kill him. Danny stilled when Walker shut the sharpener off.

"You know, I was reading the law book not too long ago." Danny called out as he aimed the simple laser at Walker. Walker finally turned towards the wall, only to stumble back when he noticed Danny standing closely. Walker's eyes widened nervously as he took in Danny steely blue eyes.

"Oh." Walker said, stepping back but stopping when Danny power up the laser. He wasn't stupid; he knew Danny had modified the laser to be a stronger blast than what it had originally been.

"Yeah, I read all seven-thousand, three-hundred, seventy-two pages." Danny growled, narrowing his eyes at the cunning prison warden. "And it's shocking how many of those rules, written by you, are being broken, by _you_." Walker's shocked expression gave Danny little delight.

"I have never broken a rule!" Walker seethed indignantly. Danny barked out a humorless laugh.

"Right, and I'm a freaking penguin." Danny countered as he continued to aim the laser. He was vaguely aware of the eyes watching him from behind the shield. Walker growled monstrously at the halfa.

"Let us see think about this." Danny called out. "You've been attacking and torturing an endangered species for months now." Danny started. Walker chuckled.

"Yeah?" He asked. Danny nodded.

"With only three halfas in the world and one of them being a clone, I'd consider that an endangered species." Walker's eyes widened. The punk had a point. Maddie scrunched her forehead. What the hell were halfas?

"And then there is the crazy thing with how every ghost just knows how another ghost died. That was when you created the law that said no one was to ever exploit a fellow ghost's death." Walker nodded wearily, impressed with the young boy's knowledge.

"So then there's the fact you've exploited Phantom's death continuously." Walk slammed his fist against the shield in anger.

"I have never exploited your death!" Maddie sucked a deep breath in at Walker's exclamation. What in the world could he mean? Danny was _alive_ and human! He never died! The tears that had been finally drying now that Danny had the upper hand threatened to start again. Danny took note of the small cracks that began crawling through the shield due to Walker's temper. It seemed the shield wasn't too strong.

"Um, dude. How do you think he died?" Tuck asked, giving Danny the well needed distraction. Once Walker glanced over at Tucker, Danny maneuvered himself behind Walker, forcing the ghost to back away from his weapons table.

"He was in an ally after a concert and with you two twits and was be—." Walker hadn't even finished his sentence before he found himself slammed up against the electric shield. He winced when he felt Danny's hands around his neck lighting up with just enough ectoplasma that he couldn't go intangible and move. More cracks crawled up the shield after Danny had viciously slammed the ghost against it.

"How the hell do you even know about that?" Danny fiercely, eyes began, unwillingly, to glow a vibrant green as his temper finally got the better of him. Walker began panicking as he felt Danny's grip strengthen. He knew in all honesty that Danny could obliterate him at a whim, but always counted Danny had too much humanity to actually be able to do it.

The only times Walker had second guessed that was when he had tried going after the halfa's friends, when he mentioned his clone earlier, and now.

"Just like you said earlier, we just know the deaths of other ghosts!" Walker exclaimed, struggling against Danny's iron grip, which tightened.

"That happened when I was thirteen." Walker's eyes widened. Maddie pressed back into Jack in fear, what was happening to her baby? What _had_ happened to her baby? His eyes were glowing green, as were his hands. And how was he keeping a ghost twice his size pinned against the shattering shield?

Sam and Tucker quickly got everyone back as the shield began to crumble, constantly keeping one eye and ear opened on Danny.

"But you—" Walker started in shock.

"Phantom didn't die until the next year by _electrocution_ due to the portal, did you know that?" Danny rasped, his breath was still thin and ragged. "Electrocution, Walker." Walker gulped. Danny wouldn't even have to kill him. All he had to do was tell the Ghost Zone that Walker had broken his own laws and the ghosts themselves would take care of him!

"You've already chalked up seven thousand years _just_ today. Can you image how many more years you've earned yourself from all those times before you electrocuted me?" Danny was getting extremely careless now, but the pain was causing him to become slightly delirious and he just couldn't stop.

"I- I didn't know!" Walker cried out fearfully, scratching weakly at the painfully burning hand on his throat. They only got hotter, causing Walker to cry out in pain.

"Ignorance is no excuse to break the law." Danny smirked, rehashing the words Walker had told him all those months ago. Walker whimpered when Danny's left hand reeled back. Walker closed his eyes shut, preparing himself for the painful blow. He was shocked when the first flew past his face and slammed against the shield, causing it to fully shatter. As the electricity coursed through Danny's body, he tightened his grip on Walker.

No one moved, not even Sam and Tucker.

"But I'll cut you a deal." Danny snarled, relaxing his grip on the ghost's neck as he sank to his knees. Walker nodded eagerly. Maddie couldn't believe how terrified this ghost actually seemed. Of her little boy, nonetheless! She wasn't sure if she should be impressed, or scared for herself! Jack had similar thoughts, but he was more on the fact that the two had jumped between Phantom and Danny's life repeatedly, like they were entwined somehow.

"Anything." Walker cried, struggling to free himself of the iron grip. Danny refused to let go.

"I won't tell anyone about your failures to follow the law, if you release us all and drop any charges." Walker sagged in relief.

"Of course." Danny shook his head.

"That's not all." Walker wanted to cry. "You are to drop charges against Wulf, along with any of my other allies. I will no longer be a fugitive and there will no longer be a bounty out for me or anyone who helped me escape. If these conditions are not met, I _will_ inform everyone to your violations. Understood?" Walker wanted to protest, but decided that there could have been much worse things Danny could have demanded.

"Understood." He whispered. Danny glared, his head cocked to the side.

"And what happened to Danielle?" Walker's eyes widened. He _knew _he shouldn't have said anything about that clone he was so protective of.

"N-n-nothing I swear! We tried going after her once you left her at the Far Frozen but we couldn't get the upper hand over the tribe so we retreated." Danny narrowed his eyes.

"You better be telling the truth or I promise you that it'll be me escorting and performing your execution." He hissed before handing Danny the keys attached to his belt.

"You and your humans are free to go." He bowed his head respectively when Danny threw him to the side and released his throat. Sam and Tucker practically flew over and tentatively hugged their friend.

"I'm fine, I've suffered worse." Valerie gasped at how easily Danny brushed off his wounds "But we need to leave now." Danny said once they released him, his eyes still focused on Walker. Fortunately, his eyes had turned back to their blue.

Sam and Tucker nodded before motioning everyone to join them. Danny dragged Walker to his feet.

"You are to escort us out, but if you try to break this deal, it'll be the last thing you do. And I want Chasta and Cujo _now_." Danny threatened before grabbing his backpack and opening the door. Everyone shuffled out after the raven-haired Fenton, cowering ghosts appeared behind every jail cell they walked past. Lancer noticed that as Danny and Walker passed, they all look terrified. Snippets could be heard as the ghosts began to gossip. Danny fell back a bit to walk with Sam and Tucker as they followed Walker.

They stopped at a cell that had the two pets in and Walker motioned for one of the cowering guards to open the cell. The guard continuously fumbled with the keys as he threw nervous glances over at the bloodied teen standing protectively in front of his two friends, an emotionless mask plastered onto his face.

Cujo and Chasta immediately ran over to the trio and growled at the ghosts, only calming once Sam and Tuck had petted their heads.

Everyone huddled together nervously as Walker escorted them into a large cafeteria. Even Maddie and Jack just silently trailed along, watching as everyone scurried away, eyes wide with fear as soon as Danny passed, his body battered and bruised. And yet he strode with power.

Words of 'Danny' and 'ghost kid' and 'prodigy' all whizzed over the groups heads as they continued to shuffle after Danny, fearful of being left behind. No one really breathed until they were out of the prison and back on their path. Walker quickly scurried away once Danny released him, back into the prison.

* * *

Danny fell weakly to the ground once Walker was gone, Sam falling with him.

"Danny." Sam murmured, placing the exhausted boy's head in her lap. Danny breathed heavily before grinning up at the Goth.

"I'll be fine. Nothing's too broken." He mumbled, closing her eyes tightly before exhaling deeply. Maddie kneeled down and reached to pull him into a hug until Sam smacked her arms away.

"And here you're supposed to be the scientist." She hissed as Tucker got into his own backpack and pulled out several first aids.

"Excuse you, young lady?" Maddie hissed. Sam glared up at her best friend's mother.

"He is _severely_ injured and you were about to pull him up to hug him. Do you see all those cuts on his body? You moving him more than necessary will not going to help him." Sam barked viciously.

"Tuck can you—" Danny started, only to be interrupted.

"Get ahold of Princess Dora and see if she can help us. Last time we visited her, she was working on a limo-carriage so maybe she can send that to us." Tucker finished as he began typing away on his PDA while Sam began pulling out random bandages and equipment from the first aid kit.

"I need you to take the rest of your shirt off." Danny sat up and pulled it off before lying back down. Everyone sat around the trio in a circle as Sam began caring for their savior.

"Okay, now breathe deeply." Sam murmured as she pulled out several bottles of water and a large thin towel. Danny did as she instructed while Sam poured the water on his chest, clearing the blood. Chasta and Cujo laid on the outskirts of the group, watching for any intruders as their masters were busy.

Maddie gasped as she finally took in the amount of scars that were appearing now that the blood was clearing away. Scars on top of scars on top of scars littered her baby boy's body. Paulina, Valerie, Star and Sarah had gathered together to take comfort in a little female company for a while as they watched the horrors take place in front of their eyes.

Everyone who had finally stopped crying in fear, began to cry in sympathy and pity as they took in the appearance of the raven-haired boy. Dash, Kwan, and Gillian looked amongst each other guiltily. Were they the reason this kid had these scars? How much pain had Fenton gone through because they found some sick pleasure in it?

Paulina looked shell-shocked and hadn't even cared when it had been Mikey pulling her away from the prison. Michelle and Natalia were cuddle close to their brothers as the trio continued to speak in soft tones. Everyone was unsure on how to deal with everything they had witnessed.

Sam could tell things were already healing, but not as fast as it usually did

"The electrocution is slowing the healing." Sam whispered as Tucker continued to try reaching Dora. Danny sighed.

"I'm not surprised. The voltage was pretty high and I could literally feel my blood boiling." Danny replied before taking a deep breath. Sam nodded and got to work with drying his chest.

"Hello Princess Dora!" Tucker exclaimed, relieved to finally get ahold of her.

"Hello, servant of Sir Phantom." Danny groaned. Tuck turned the PDA to face Danny as he laid on the ground.

"Oh dear god, what could have happened to you, Sir Phan—"

"Fenton, Dora." Danny interrupted smoothly. Dora paused before nodding.

"Of course, Sir Fenton. Now, please. Can you tell me what happened?" Dora begged, her eyes pleading with him over the video.

"Walker caught me for a bit." Dora gasped.

"Where are you, I'll be there as soon as I can." She declared, jumping up. Danny sighed.

"I'm actually about half a mile from the prison, but I also have my class, pets, parents, and teacher with me." Dora stopped short for a moment before nodding.

"I will be there momentarily." She insisted before the screen went blank.

"We should be able to get you patched up by the time she gets here." Sam said as she finished applying bandages over his arms and wrists. She was quick to clean the wounds around neck and shoulders, saving the ones on his stomach for last. She dabbed gently at his brand before grabbing his wrist and placing his hand on the brand.

"That needs to cool down." She instructed as Tucker began to work on the cuts on Danny's face, applying cream to his black eye.

"This isn't good." Sam muttered. Danny slowly opened one blazing blue eye to look at Sam for a moment before closing them again. He knew his eyes literally glowed blue when he used his ice powers, so he had to be somewhat cautious so that his parents didn't get any more suspicious. Danny was furious with himself for slipping up so much at the prison. At the time, he hadn't been able to think much through the pain, but now, he was angry that he didn't watch what was said.

"Broken ribs." Danny groaned. Sam nodded as she gently pressed against his chest.

"You also have a broken wrist." Tucker tacked on as he finished taping a small cut on Danny's eyebrows. Danny sighed.

"Those are probably what my body is trying to focus on healing right now." Danny's eyes snapped opened when he felt something through the link.

"Are you serious?" He hissed, raising himself up a bit with his left elbow. Sam turned away from him as she began to silently dig through the first aid kit. "You are." Danny whispered before falling back on the ground.

"Danny?" Tucker rasped, staring down at his male best friend. Danny looked up.

"I need stitches." He explained. Maddie gasped as Sam pulled out some surgical suture and a curved needle.

Jack stopped short. How in the world had he known that? She hadn't even said anything!

"I suggest anyone with a weak stomach to turn away." Most of the girls cringed and turned away as she took a flame to the needle before tying the suture to it. She got out a pair of scissors along with tweezers.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Lancer asked nervously. Sam sighed.

"He needs stitches immediately, if that's what you mean." She responded as she began pushing the needle Danny's stomach.

"It'll only be temporary until we reach Frostbite's. When we get there Frostbite will be able to heal Danny." Danny winced as she tied the first stitch off before working on the next one.

"Are you okay man?" Jake asked woozily from his spot close to Danny. Danny unconsciously looked over, but quickly closed his eyes when he was Jake's own widen. He forgot he was still chilling his brand.

"Yeah, needles just aren't my thing. Last time she did this she poured alcohol over the wound to numb it so it's a really uncomfortable to feel the needle move in your skin." Jake cringed at the visual before nodding and pulling Lana close.

Jack gasped uncomfortably.

"You mean there was another time she had to do this?" Jack exclaimed. Danny stopped chilling his hand and stared up at his father.

"Um." Danny stuttered. "Yeah, I got in a fight with a ghost and Sam's studying to become a veterinarian so I volunteered for her to stitch me up." Danny shrugged as Sam continued to expertly stitch him up. While it had been true she is training to become a veterinarian and he did allow her to try her first actual stitching with him, but this wasn't the second time she had done this. It was more like her eleventh or twelfth time.

"A ghost?" Maddie howled. "What were you doing fighting a ghost?" She hissed, distracting herself from seeing her boy being taken care of someone that wasn't her. She hated knowing that Sam knew what to do to take care of Danny while she was left clueless on how to help. She resented how Sam had taken over caring for her baby boy and was able to comfort and care for Danny better than Maddie even knew how to.

"Talk to him Tuck." Sam muttered, keeping Danny from talking to his mother. This was a really long, really deep, really bad gash and she didn't need Danny getting stressed out more with his body already working in overdrive.

"Well what do you want me to talk about?" Tuck complained. "Talking to Danny is so not fun to talk about. All he wants to talk about it such boring things!" Danny rolled his eyes at Tucker's meaningless teasing and smiled up at his best friend, whose lap he was currently occupying.

"Shuddup jerk." Danny slurred as Tuck began brushing through his matted hair. Sam felt tears burn her eyes as he opened the link back up. He felt…calm. It was something he rarely felt and it always changed Sam's mood so rapidly.

* * *

The wound was very deep and very big, causing Sam to have to stop and clean the gash out several times. The class tried to help distract him by talking to Danny about every random subject under the sun. In the end the girls tried to focus on things like his interest in astronomy and his artistic talent, anything but the needle that was repeatedly being shoved into his body.

"You know, your drawings remind me a lot of Neil Fathom's." Natalia had stated. Michelle had begged Danny into letting them see a few of his drawings again. Agreements rose through the group as they began comparing similarities to Danny's drawings and this Neil's drawings.

Tuck and Sam shared an amused look before continuing on with their works. While the conversations helped distract him, Tucker messing with his raven locks relaxed him enough for Sam to continue to stitch him up.

"Yeah, your signature even looks the—" Jake trailed off as he stared at the drawing they had stopped on. Danny's eyes widened in panic and he tried to sit up to reach for his sketchbook, only to be pushed down by Lana and Tuck.

"Dude." Jake whispered as he began to flip through some more. He looked up, shock filling his hazel green eyes. "Are _you_ Neil Fathom?" Danny blushed and closed his eyes as everyone began murmuring around them.

"I don't know what you are talking about." He whispered meekly. This was so not good.

"Dude, you're artworks are _sick_." Gillian exclaimed, breaking the shocked silence. Danny blushed even harder and covered his face with his good hand. He had long since stopped chilling the now bandaged brand mark.

"Um, thank you?" Danny squeaked out, trying to instead focus on what Sam was thinking, but stopped when he could see, through her mind, his wound being stitched up. That wasn't something he wanted to see.

"No, he's serious man. Your art is literally everywhere because it's so good!" Dash added, staring at the sketchbook.

"Dude." Was all Kwan could get out, his eyes were wide in awe. Danny felt so mortified.

"I just don't understand it." Natalia stated. Everyone turned to her with blank expressions. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Not that he had used the alias Neil Fathom to sell his art, but _why_ did you do it?" Danny sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose to relieve some of his headache before answering.

"I needed the money and that was the quickest way. My uncle-in-law's son, Matt, wanted to sell my paintings near a large tourist attraction for a 75/25 split—in my favor—of the income." Danny shrugged his shoulders slightly. Star cleared her throat delicately.

"But why did you use Neil Fathom?" Danny gave her an incredulous look.

"Would you have bought one if you knew it was by some 'wimpy loser with no life'?" He asked, no hint of bitterness in his voice as he labeled himself. Most of the kids turned away in guilt. They knew they wouldn't have dared to buy a Fenton original before this trip.

"What did you need close to five thousand dollars every month for?" Valerie asked loudly. She had been a loyal fan of Neil Fathom paintings and had been bored one night so she looked up the average amount of paintings he had per collection and how much they were sold for. The results had been shocking. Jack whipped his head to Danny once he heard how much he was making, where could all that money go? Danny sighed and looked up to the zone's 'sky' like atmosphere.

"I needed for things like groceries, clothes, class materials that would get destroyed, and college tuition." Maddie bit her lip guiltily. Now that she thought about it, she didn't remember the last time she had gone to the store and gotten groceries. She had always expected Jack gave the money to Jazz, who took Danny to the store to get everything they'd need. She guesses she should have known better when they had a bit more breathing room after their bills in the past few months.

"Do you have a college already in mind, Daniel?" Lancer asked, eager that there was something school-related happening right now. Both Tucker and Sam stilled for a moment before continuing quietly. They couldn't do anything more than be there for Danny right now.

"Um, it's not for me." He mumbled uncomfortably. Jack and Maddie looked at their son in confusion. Who else would he be saving the money for?

"Does it have something to do with that clone the evil ghost spoke of earlier?" Michelle asked nervously. She had seen how defensive he had gotten over her earlier and didn't want to cross a line. Danny shook his head.

"Not exactly." He muttered. "I have already set aside another account for her that has all of the money my uncle tries to give me in it so she'll be set for college and whatnot once Tuck gets the papers we need finalized." Danny hissed when he tried to move his bad wrist to scratch his nose.

"So who is it for then?" Natalia asked eagerly. Danny sighed.

"Jeez, you guys. I think I liked it better when you all ignored me." He mumbled before sighing when he saw the guilty looks his peers were wearing. "Sorry, that was rude of me." Lana snorted.

"You're kidding me, right? You're lying broken, bloody, bruised, and literally in stitches and you think you have to apologize for getting a bit snippy at our nib nosing?" Lana shook her head.

"Yeah, if I were you, I'd be screaming and cursing and wishing death on anyone who dared to come near me, so you have nothing to apologize for." Jake amended, grinning over at the smaller boy.

"If anyone has anything to apologize for, it's us. We should be digging into your life, it's called your _personal_ life for a reason." Danny smiled at Mikey's apology before closing his eyes.

"It's for my sister." He finally said, opening his eyes up. Jack and Maddie felt their shoulders sag. Danny shouldn't have to be worrying about it.

"She's destined for one of the top Ivy League colleges of her choosing. If she were to go to Harvard, or Princeton, they'd be able to only give her a partial scholarship due to our parents making too much money for a full scholarship. We got a negotiation say that if she can promise to pay, upfront, the rest of the tuition then they'll give her the scholarship and free boarding. They really want her there." No one missed how proud Danny looked.

"The way I see it is that I've got about half a year left to come up with the rest and assure her a spot in the college of her choosing. I've gotten close to 24 grand by now and have half a year to come up with the other 22." Danny sighed. Maddie blinked. Wow, Danny seemed to have everything worked out. She didn't like that he was so worried about making sure there was enough money for Jazz to get into college, that was something she and Jack should be dealing with, not their youngest child. They hadn't even given Jazz and Danny's college funds any thought in years, completely forgetting that they'd be heading off really soon.

Or at least Jazz was.

"But what about _your_ future, man?" Danny blinked at Nathan's question before letting out a humorless chuckle.

"I'm probably going to have to repeat my sophomore year, Nathan. There isn'tgoing to _be_ that type of future for me." Sam caressed his shoulder gently as he shut his mouth with an audible click. Lancer bit his lip, upset.

"That's something _I_ don't get." Kwan spoke out. "You've obviously got brains, man. Otherwise we'd still be stuck in the room with the riddles and astronomy analogy things." Danny flushed.

"And there was the way you were able to locate the weakest area of the wall thing in between us and shatter it." Valerie piped up. Sam was close to finishing up with the last stitch.

"Yeah, no." Danny stated. "I just punched the shield. The electrical wavelengths were what was holding the thin sheet of ectoplasma that Walker had set up. It's was weakened due to all the hits Walker had taken to it and all I had to do was use the Fenton Lipstick Laser to short-circuit the wavelengths." Danny was unaware of all the stares. Even Maddie and Jack were just sitting there stupefied. And here Maddie had thought her son wasn't smart, it seems there was another thing she had gotten wrong about her son.

"Okay, but you read the law book—which is unnumbered—and in a language you learned in two weeks. Then you used it against the same ghost who created it." Tucker chipped in. He hated how his best friend was always bringing himself down. Danny glared up at him, careful to keep his eyes their natural blue.

"No one asked for your input, Foley." Danny hissed. Tuck stuck his tongue out at his best friend before pulling the brush through his hair again.

"Danny, it just doesn't make sense. All through elementary and middle school you and Sam were either the star pupils of one teacher's class, or the devil's advocate for another. But no matter what, you guys kept the _highest_ scores in school." Mikey informed the group.

"Yeah, and at the beginning of the year, we thought you were going to stay that way." Nathan continued. Danny closed his eyes. Yeah, he knew that he had always gotten good grades, but he wasn't that smart, at least in his opinion. Sam and Tucker had completely different thoughts on this subject.

"Yeah, I remember when we were in sixth grade the school took the top highest five in the grade and tested them individually. They were so impressed with your grades they wanted to bump you up to high school." Jake exclaimed; Danny side-glanced at the bigger boy. Jack and Maddie stared at each other with wide eyes. Why didn't they know about this?

"Um, how exactly did you know that? I only told Tuck and Sam about that; at my house, in my room, with the music blaring." Jake rolled his eyes.

"Dude, they asked you out in the halls. I was walking past when you turned them down cold." Danny semi-shrugged.

"I wasn't about to head to high school and get bullied even more." He mumbled as Sam stood up.

"And because you wouldn't leave Tuck and Sam behind." Jake countered. Danny snickered.

"It isn't _possible_ to leave these two behind. I've got them for life." Tucker chuckled.

"You sound like that's a bad thing, dude. You're privileged to get to be best friends with me." Sam cleared her throat, a smile on her lips.

"I need you to stand up so I can wrap your chest." She spoke for the first time, still in 'Nurse Sam' mode, as Tuck liked to call it. She stood on either side of Danny's hips and stuck her hands out to the raven-haired boy. He huffed before grabbing her hands and allowing himself to pretty much be hoisted up. It was a good thing his wrist wasn't broken anymore.

In the past twenty minutes it took for her to sew and clean the wound, most of bones in his wrist had reset themselves and slowly mended back together. Now it was just a horrible sprain.

Sam began to gently paw at his ribs, taking note to which ones Danny would tense with, which ones he'd close the link on, and which ones he barely took notice to. Once she figure that out, she pulled out the large wrapping bandages and began to fix them around Danny, careful not to make it too tight.

"You seem to be an expert at this, Ms. Manson." Lancer commented as she began tying off the end. He watched as her hands stilled for a moment at his words before returning to work, Danny answering for her.

"She wants to major in veterinarian medicine with a minor degree in nursing." Sam smiled up as Danny as he answered.

"We're talking about Gothica here." Lana said, no malice in her voice. "You know, the girl all about darkness and death." Sam chuckled.

"Hey, animals love me." Lana rolled her eyes.

"But that's not the point. Your bedside manners will be that of a rock." Sam pretended to contemplate that.

"That's why I have Danny." She stated before she plopped back to the ground and began packing up the first aid kits.

"Yeah, she gets a lot of practice on him." Tuck blurted absentmindedly. Danny scowled before rolling his eyes.

"That wasn't what she was talking about, man." He said slowly.

"No I was talking about how you're too nice to everyone. We balance each other out." Danny grinned down at his female best friend. "You're pretty nice when you want to be." Tuck snorted.

"Dude, she's only nice to _y_—ow!" Everyone chuckled when Sam threw and empty bottle over her shoulder and hit in him in the face. Somehow they knew it wasn't an accident.

"I don't think your mom will be too thrilled with me if you have to get your glasses replaced again." Danny muttered as Tuck rubbed at his cheek. Tuck just rolled his eyes.

"Do you think we'll get out of here soon?" Sarah had asked softly when there was finally a lull in conversation. She stared up at Danny with wide, chocolate brown eyes. She held a complete new respect for the so-called loser as he stood tall above everyone.

The bruises and the cuts, and the scars, and the gashes, and the stitches, he brushed them off like it was no big deal! She cries when she gets a paper cut, and here he was joking and laughing with his friends after he was completely abused.

Danny looked down at her with kind eyes—kindness she didn't deserve—and shrugged.

"Dora should be here in about ten to twenty minutes and then we'll head over to the Far Frozen, which is about half a day away. After that, Frostbite will insist we stay overnight. We should be out of here by either tomorrow or the day after, provided we don't have any more interruptions on our way there." He looked nervous about something.

"She's fine, Danny." Sam murmured, her back still to him.

"Can you say that for sure?" Danny countered. Sam sighed before standing up to face the distraught teen.

"Walker said that Frostbite and his tribe were able to protect her. And you know that crazy yeti would rather put his afterlife on the line than let you or Danielle get hurt. We set her there for that exact reason, Danny." Danny looked to the sky again and sighed.

"I know you're worried about her, Dude." Tuck said, getting up as well. "Hell, we're all worried for her. But Walker didn't stand a chance against those yetis and you know that." Danny chuckled.

"They sure know how to protect what is theirs." Sam smiled. "And we both know you are their unofficial member." Danny grinned down at the petite friend and nodded.

"Danielle is the clone that ghost was talking about before, correct?" Maddie butted in. She would love to get her hands on the clone and experiment on it. See how it even exists! This could be a scientific breakthrough if she can break down the DNA composite and imitate the cloning process…

"You aren't touching her." Danny hissed at his mother, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"What are you talking about?" Maddie reflected. Dang, it seemed her son had grown some sort of emotional attachment to this creature. It'll be harder for her to get it out of Danny's sight long enough to begin her dissection.

"You've got that same look in your eye that you get when you talk about killing and painfully dissecting Phantom. And if you think for one moment that I'm going to let you near her, than you guessed wrong." Maddie could feel her hackles rising at the tone her son was taking with her. Jack was impressed with Danny's perceptive skills.

"How dare you talk to me like that!" She hissed angrily as she stepped closer to him until she was almost in his face. Danny stared at his mother with a guarded look, something Maddie had never seen before.

"You're threatening Danielle." He stated simply. Maddie threw her hands up in the air.

"No, I'm talking about figuring out how that clone even exists. And stop giving it a name and—"

"Wait a minute!" Valerie suddenly called out, pushing her way through the group. Danny, who had slowly began forming a protective stance, stood up straight and looked over at the sassy girl.

"What Valerie." Sam hissed, her eyes darting back and forth between the two females.

"You aren't talking about the Danielle I'm thinking about, are you?" She hissed, her mind going back to what Danny had said in the prison. Danny turned his look to Valerie, pushing Sam behind him subtly.

"It depends on who you're thinking of…" Danny said cautiously. Valerie felt tears begin to burn in her eyes.

"You said that there were three halfas in the world." She hissed. "And that one of them was a clone." Danny's eyes widened as he stepped closer to Valerie. Sam began to crouch down, ready to pounce as soon as Valerie made on wrong move.

"Valerie." Danny stated softly. "Can we talk to you over there?" Valerie nodded fanatically and let her be pulled away by the trio, Cujo and Chasta kept anyone from following them.

* * *

"Danielle was supposed to be Phantom's cousin. And I know she's a halfa and so is Vlad and you said there was only one other half in existence." Val started as soon as they stopped.

"And now I'm hearing Danielle is your clone and the only way for that to be true is for you to be a halfa and she and Phantom look so much alike. And then you and Phantom look identical and please Danny say that I'm wrong. Say something!" She cried staring at the trio frantically. Danny just sighed and lowered his gaze to the ground.

"I'm sorry Valerie." He whispered, guilt and shame filling his voice. Sam stood close, her shoulder just in front of Danny. She knew that if Valerie were to attack, Danny wouldn't stop her. So it was left to her to protect Danny.

"But Phantom is evil. He stole that jewelry and attacked the mayor and—" Sam shook her head.

"He was under Freakshow's control when he stole the jewelry and Walker had possessed the mayor to make it look like Danny was attacking him. If you go through the footage, you'll see the mayor's eyes were glowing red." Tucker explained, a hand resting on Danny's shoulder.

Valerie felt the tears begin to run down her cheeks as she thought about all the things she did and said to him. He had nothing to apologize for! She had hunted him, tortured him, and tried to kill him on so many different occasions!

"I'm so sorry Danny." She whispered, her voice quivering from the tears. Danny's head snapped up, his sapphire orbs focusing in on Valerie's face. He cautiously made his way over to her.

"Valerie." He whispered as he gently wiped the tears from her cheek.

"I'm so sorry Danny. I've done so much to hurt you… Can you ever forgive me?" She choked out, angered that she was allowing him to comfort her. She had done so many horrible things to him and yet here he was, trying to calm her down.

Sam smiled softly as she felt Danny's feeling through the link. While he didn't have romantic feelings for the cocoa-skinned girl anymore, he did still care deeply for her and hated seeing her in tears. It was one of the things Sam loved about Danny. He treated everyone with kindness and wore his heart out on his sleeve.

"Oh, Valerie, as far as I'm concerned, there isn't anything to forgive you for. I know that you thought I was out to get you, but I swear it was the whole 'wrong place, wrong time' kind of thing. I had no intentions of hurting you and neither did Cujo. He's just a puppy that only understood that his squeaky toy was missing and I was the only ghost around to help him." Valerie hiccuped and nodded slowly.

"But can you forgive me?" Valerie blinked up at the taller teen.

"What would you have to apologize for Danny?" She asked. Danny chuckled darkly.

"I kept my secret from you. Only Sam, Tuck, and Jazz knew and I didn't know if you would try to attack me or them if you knew." Valerie's whole body shook.

"You have nothing to apologize for either. I've done so many horrible things, and you never retaliated. You never fought back, except when you were protecting someone." Danny shrugged.

"I didn't want to hurt you." He mumbled before pulling Valerie into gentle hug. She held back loosely, still aware he was injured, and cried into his bandaged chest.

"And Danielle? You both said she was your cousin." She asked as she pulled away. Danny wiped away the remains of her tears before stepping back to his two friends. Sam placed a hand in between his shoulder blades while Tucker stood closer to him.

"Physically she's my clone." He mumbled, running his hand through his hair. "But emotionally I look to her like she's my little girl, you know?" He had that fond smile on his face again, the one she saw on Phantom's face when he had been watching Danielle.

"I probably won't get another chance to ever have a kid and she is a miracle for me." Valerie cocked her head to the side. That was an unusual statement.

"Don't you expect to have kids when you are older?" Danny flinched and blushed while Sam sighed.

"I can't have children. The, uh, accident in the portal, um, turned me, um, sterile." He stuttered out, embarrassed. Valerie decided to push past the awkwardness of this situation.

"Oh, my God Danny." She whispered. "I'm so sorry." He smiled tightly at her.

"I have Danielle and, honestly, I couldn't have asked for anything more perfect." Danny chuckled.

"She may have started off as my clone, but she became her own person completely." Sam and Tucker both smiled. They honestly loved the little girl and was so proud of Danny for stepping up and caring for the little girl.

"We should head back, they're starting to get restless and Princess Dora should be here soon." Tucker interrupted. Valerie and Sam both agreed.

"Can you not tell anyone, Valerie? I'm not ready to have anyone else know just yet." Valerie nodded quickly another apology falling from her lips. Danny rolled his eyes.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." He mumbled before they headed over to rejoin the rest of their group.

* * *

No one spoke as the trio and Valerie walked back over, Chasta and Cujo giving up their stances and happily being petted by their masters. Maddie stood straight up, glaring at the kids. She was furious with how Danny had just brushed her off.

Jack, on the other hand, smiled over at his son, who returned the gesture.

"We aren't finished, Daniel." Maddie spat out, crossing her arms over her chest. Danny rolled his eyes before he stared over at his mother.

"What mother?" He asked curtly, his voice as tense as his body language. Maddie could see every muscle in her son's body tighten as he stood there watching her. Paulina was almost salivating.

She was devastated for what happened to Danny, she really was. But staring at his rather muscular form, she couldn't help but check him out. He wasn't as muscular as one of the jocks, or even Jake, but he had a lot more than the baggy clothes he wore showed. Her attraction to him grew more and more with everything she found out about him.

"You can't stop me from experimenting on her. She's not only an illegal science experiment; she's of your DNA so I have certain right to that experiment." She stated simply, smirking when she saw the anger in his eyes. Go ahead, kid, throw a tantrum.

"You're hilarious." Danny barked out, causing her smirk to disappear. "But you can't stop me. You have no rights over her. She's of my DNA. And as far as I'm aware, Jazz actually has first say over what happens to me. Or did you forget signing those papers after another almost fatal lab accident?" Maddie flinched and searched for Jack to help her. She was shocked when she noticed he had made his way over to Danny along with the rest of the class.

"So not only do you not have first say in what happens to me, you also have not rights over Danielle. And trust me when I say I will do anything to protect her, no matter the threat." Maddie flinched at his subtle threat.

Everyone jumped when Cujo began barking loudly. Danny spun to where he was facing to see a gigantic carriage being pulled by horses descended from the sky and landed close to them. The door to the carriage opened quickly and a female ghost hopped out.

"Sir Fenton!" She cried out as she made her way over to them. Danny turned just in time to receive a dainty hug from the princess.

"I'm fine, Dora." He comforts her once she pulls away. She looks at his chest with upraising eyes.

"It seems Lady Manson has patched you up just fine." She murmured. "But I can still sense the weakness coursing through your body. Come, we must get you to Sir Frostbite's as soon as we can." She gently pulled him towards the carriage. Everyone quickly followed behind the boy, trusting him to keep them safe.

Once they were all situated in the carriage, with Danny, Sam, and Tucker sitting in the center due to there not being enough seats, the carriage took off.

"Should we worry about that horrid warden?" She asked hesitantly, sipping at some wine she had poured for herself. The privileges she now had been incredible to her. No longer was she under the abuse of her mother or brother.

Danny shook his head before leaning back onto Sam, who wrapped an arm around his shoulders. It seemed that the trio had long since stopped caring who was around them as they kept close.

"I have something over Walker that should keep him away from me and all of my allies." Dora blinked before smiling and nodding.

"In that case, we can take the fast way there and be at the Far Frozen within six hours." Danny grinned weakly back at Dora.

"Thanks Dora." He slurred. He could feel his body starting to crash as he finally let himself relax.

"Everything will be fine, Danny. Take a nap." Danny heard Sam tell him, but he was already slipping into the darkness.

* * *

"Will he be okay?" Valerie asked. She looked rather panicky as she stared down at the resting boy. Sam nodded.

"I'm hoping so." She murmured before glancing up at Dora.

"Doesn't the wine your kingdom manufactures have natural healing qualities due to the berry you use?" She asked. Dora stopped mid-sip and nodded.

"Yes, it is what has kept my people from questioning Aragon's abuse for years." Sam scowled.

"Danny's still mad about that." Dora smiled softly.

"Sir Fenton has an extremely large heart that I am honored to be a part of." Sam smiled before focusing on the task at hand.

"Do you think that the wine would help him heal faster?" Dora paused and looked down at the young teen before nodding.

"Perhaps, but we should let him sleep for a while." Sam nodded.

"Yeah. He's going to be really sore when he wakes up." Tucker pointed out as Sam unconsciously brushed her fingers through his hair.

"Yeah…" Everyone was silent as they watched their hero lay on the floor, his mouth partially opened. He looked so peaceful and innocent, something even Sam and Tucker haven't seen in months. Sam closed her eyes and focused on sending Danny happy, calm thoughts through link as his blocks crumbled.

Dora watching in amazement as a light flashed between Sam and Danny before Danny smiled in his sleep. She had read stories of links that had manifested between two people who literally shared the same wavelength, but never in her thousands of years did she ever think she was to ever see it. It was incredible and awe-inspiring.

* * *

It was only three hours later that Danny awoke. Most of the class had dozed off at some point or another, only staying in a light sleep as they awaited Danny's awake. The only warning they had of him waking up was a sharp intake of breath before his eyes flashed opened and he jumped up quickly.

"Is everyone okay?" He asked as he looked around, counting and taking roll in his head. Once he noticed everyone was here, including the animals, he relaxed and faced Sam.

"You need to sit down right now." Sam instructed from her spot on the floor. Danny hesitated before nodding and sitting back down.

"Now, Danny." Sam started, trying to keep the link blank to keep him from growing suspicious.

"What, Sam?" Danny asked cautiously at her tone.

"You aren't healing that fast…" She pointed out. "And we're in open territory right now, and almost four hours from Frostbite's still." Danny was uncomfortable with how she was stating the facts.

"Okay…" He stated slowly, trying to gauge the situation. Sam was doing an excellent job at keeping him out of her mind as of now, and he didn't like that one bit. Danny's eye twitched when he heard the noise of some sort of liquid being poured into a glass. Glancing over at Dora, Danny's eyes widened. So that's what she was getting at. Sam flinched when she both felt and saw the anger Danny began displaying.

"Absolutely not." He hissed, glaring at the wine with hatred usually only directed at any ghost—or human—that attacked his family. Sam sighed.

"Danny, you _need_ to heal and that'll help you. We don't have much more first aid equipment left and we can't have you bleeding to death here. Your already weakened body has taken a huge toll and you know you need to heal." Danny shook his head.

"I refuse to touch that stuff." He growled, backing away from Dora completely. "After all the crap alcohol has put my—_our_—lives through I'm shocked and horrified you would have the gull to try and pull something like this." He snapped at his best friend. She just rolled her eyes.

"You think I don't remember? But you aren't Neil and you've got Tuck and me here to keep you safe." Sam bit back. Jack nervously cleared his throat.

"Who's Neil?" Maddie blurted. While she was happy that her son refused to drink alcohol, she did agree with Sam that he needed to heal and if this wine was supposed to help him, then so be it. Sam and Danny side-glanced at Maddie, both were wondering what to tell her.

Neil went by Dan to everyone else but the trio. Danny had refused to call him Dan due to the horrid memories he had of Dark Dan and Sam and Tucker felt the same way.

"Your brother, mom." Danny stated as he fell on his back, shivering when his bare skin touched the ground. Maddie blinked. She only had one brother and his name was Dan.

He was who Danny was named after. Daniel Julian Fitzgerald, who went by Dan, even when he was younger. She always hated that he never let her call him Danny when they were growing up. Maddie just never liked the nickname Dan.

"But he goes by Dan." She mumbled, watching as her son scowled.

"Yeah, well I don't really like that name so we've taken to calling him Neil." Danny shrugged. "He doesn't seem to mind it too much." Jack blinked, cocking his head to the side.

"Since when have you and Dan talked? Last time we saw you near each other was when you and Sam were in third grade!" The trio winced. They had tried to keep the fact that Neil, Sam and Danny were back on talking terms away from Jack and Maddie to avoid questions, but it seemed the world had different thoughts.

"Yeah, you refuse to go with us to his Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners every year." Danny rolled his eyes at his mother.

"He has never refused to go. You guys just leave without even asking if Danny wants to go!" Jack flinched as Tuck's accusation.

"Well, we didn't want to upset him with the fact that we were going to his uncle's for the holidays." Jack mumbled his defense. Sam snorted.

"Nope, it's better to just leave your youngest child home alone on the holidays." She then blinked and turned to Danny. "It seems there's _another_ similarity between our parents!" She exclaimed. Danny grimaced and nodded.

"It seems so." He mumbled, staring over at his friends tiredly. In all honesty, he ached all over. He felt as if he body was on fire on the inside and was trying to burn him from the inside out. His muscles ached and his stitches itched, all problems he hated dealing with. He knew that the wine would help heal him, for it had Juniper Dew Berries—only found on the neutral territory of Dew—that have the highest healing powers known to ghost and man.

They also made for the sweetest, richest wines.

"Why in the world would you compare me to your mother?" Maddie hissed out, angered. She and Pamela Manson have gone way back into Maddie's middle school years. They had been the two queen bees of their boarding school they attended. Everyone was either on Maddie's side, or Pamela's. They had been at each other's throats since high school, which only got worse when Maddie had slept with Pamela's boyfriend the night of their senior prom before Pamela stole the crown by winning Prom queen. Maddie still believed the vote had been fixed.

"Maybe it's because you both leave your kids home alone on the holidays." Tucker deadpanned. Jack looked down guiltily. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he had spent time with Danny on Christmas. And didn't that make him feel like a lousy parent!

"Danny can join if he wants to. It's not my fault he's like the scrooge during the holidays." Sam barked out a laugh at Maddie. Danny just cleared his throat, garnering the attention of all the inhabited the carriage.

"Whether or not it is your fault, I would rather we stop making such a scene." He spoke in a low, even tone. Sam and Tuck instantly recognized the warning in his words, but it seemed Maddie enjoyed the drama.

"It's because you know you're to fault to you don't like the holidays." Danny just closed his eyes and drew calming breaths.

"I'm not going to get into this argument in front of so many people. Princess Dorathea, how far are we from Far Frozen?" Dora's eyes widened comically. That was probably only the second time Danny had ever addressed her by her title the entire time they had known each other. The only other time she could think of was when she knighted him.

"Um, about t-three and a h-half hours from the Far Frozen territory." She stuttered. Danny sighed as Sam picked up the glass of the wine and handed it to Danny. He stared down at the liquid in the flute with disdain. None of his peers— or Lancer—understood why he was so reluctant to drink, though Jake could barely remember something about Danny's uncle. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he felt like it had something to do with Danny's reluctance.

He still regrets not staying Danny's friend in elementary. He and Lana had loved playing and talking to the raven-haired boy and his female companion. They had been so thrilled that they weren't the only boy and girl to be such close friends. But then Tucker joined the two after Danny saved him from Sarah's insults and Gillian's attacks and Jake and Lana had felt an odd sense of betrayal.

Suddenly it wasn't _SamandDanny_ and _JakeandLana_. No, now it was Sam, Danny, and Tuck and _JakeandLana. _Things had changed as the duo had become a trio and Jake and Lana stepped away.

Now, as Jake looks back, he could tell that it had been childish and stupid to be upset that they had made another friend. Jake and Lana easily had other friends at their disposal, all around them. They were friends with the geeks, and friends with the A-list members. To the neutrals they could go on pretty much any territory in the social hierarchy and get away with it.

They were rarely teased or taunted by anyone higher up in rank, and were just generally left out of drama. So, while they loved each other dearly, they didn't have the dependency Sam and Danny had had before Tuck came along. Had Tuck not come around, Jake was sure that Danny and Sam would have fallen into their own world, never to talk to anyone but each other.

Lana and Jake could go and hang with separate friends and not get jealous or worried about their better half, but Jake didn't think Danny and Sam could. They were on the verge of co-dependency and, had there been no Tuck, they would have reached that years ago.

"Calm down Danny." Tuck advised. Danny scowled before taking a large gulp of the sweet alcohol. He ducked his head and blinked as he felt his eyes unwillingly turn to green. The Juniper Dew Berries were taking ahold of his ghostly cells and speeding them up.

He could already feel them vibrating in his blood.

"Whoa." Was the only thing he could get out as he felt his pupils dilate. Sam sat there stunned as his mental blocks were shattered and she began to feel the effects as well. And that was after just one drink!

"I don't know if I should drink anymore." He mumbled as he swished the liquid around in the flute. It wasn't a lot to begin with, maybe 8 ounces tops, but it seemed he was already a lightweight, and this wasn't wine typically drunk by humans.

"Only drinking the little bit you did won't help you much. You must, at the very least, drink the entire glass." Dora broke in, her voice full of experience. Danny snapped his eyes to Dora, ignoring the startled gasps from his classmates.

He remembered a time when Dora had told him that she was forced to drink large quantities of the wine to keep his abuse on her hidden. It was right before his knighting ceremony and the two friends had been lounging around the garden while they waited for Sam and Tucker to return from Danny's lair. She had been slowly pouring the wine onto some of the plants in the garden, causing them to flourish wildly when she told him.

She had quietly rehashed detail after detail of her brother's abuse before and after she died until she was nothing but a blubbering mess. He had held her hand tight through the entire recollection until they were called in for the ceremony.

"Is Aragon hurting you again I swear to God I'll—" Dora cut him off with a smile.

"I promise you, Sir Fenton, that monster is under lock and key with no chance of getting out." Danny sighed, running his hand though his raven locks.

"Good." He muttered before looking into her ruby eyes. "But you promise me that you will tell me if anything changes, do you understand Dora?" He demanded of the princess, who nodded happily.

"Of course, Sir Fenton, you'll be the first to know." Danny relaxed as he took another swig, becoming more alert as the antioxidants instantly coursed through him and began repairing his mauled body. He blinked, trying to change his eyes back to blue as he stared down at Dora's feet, but couldn't force them back. He didn't like not having control.

"Dude, what's with the eyes?" Dash blurted, slightly spooked by how green and dilated they were. Was that even safe? Danny just lulled his head to Dash with a smirk on his face.

"Boo." Danny sniggered suddenly, feeling elated by the alcohol already coursing through his system.

Sam and Tucker both scooted over until they were on either side of their wobbly friend.

"It's probably just a side effect due to it being made from berries in the Ghost Zone." Sam covered swiftly, looking at Dora for back-up. Dora nodded quickly as she watched the young halfa

"I'm feelin' the wine now." He slurred out, blinking as Sam's face swayed around. He quickly finished the rest of the wine, blinking as he literally felt his energy rising and blazing his skin. He shivered as the cool air of the Ghost Zone's frosty territories blew over them.

"Did everyone remember their Jackets?" Lancer asked as he pulled out his Jacket from his bag. Maddie and Jack just sat there. Their hazmat suits kept them at a comfortable temperature in most climates. Everyone began to dig their hoodies and jackets out of their bags and slipping them on as the temperature dropped down before evening out at a chill rate.

Only Dora and Danny seemed not too bothered by it. Paulina wanted to cry when she noticed she must have forgotten her on the specter speeder 2! She folded in on herself and rubbed her bare arms hoping the friction would help her warm up.

Sam frowned and stared over at Paulina. She may not like the Paulina, but Sam really wasn't a mean person at heart. Sighing, she slipped her arms out of her—_Danny's_—hoodie sleeves and pulled it off completely before sticking it out for Paulina.

Paulina stared at the black oversized hoodie for a moment, scared that it would attack her the moment she touched it. Sam, noticing her hesitance sighed.

"Listen Paulina, I can handle the cold pretty well due to Danny so I'll be fine. You, on the other hand, are already shivering like crazy." Paulina flushed. "Would it help if I said it was Danny's? That way you aren't worried that I charmed it or something to attack you or whatever kind of voodoo you think I do." Sam rolled her eyes as Paulina quickly grabbed it with a thankful, yet cautious, smile.

"Um, thank you?" She tried as she slipped the oversized jacket on and zipped it up. Danny looked up at her and snickered wildly.

"Why do you still even have that jacket Sammy?" He asked, staring at the white _DP_ insignia plastered on the breast of the black jacket. Jazz had bought him it for nights when it got really cold out and he had to go out fighting. He would often wear it just because he didn't want to hurt his sister's feelings. He rarely felt the cold when he was in his ghost form.

"Because you left it at my house and it was comfortable." She mumbled as Tucker snickered next to her. Danny just gave a lopsided grin before pulling the blanket out and wrapping it around his shoulders. Everyone giggled as he tugged Sam over easily and pulled her to his chest, arms wrapping around her effortlessly.

She blushed, but stayed still as she felt the comfort Danny took in their embrace.

"You're 'da best, Sammy." Sam blushed harder and wondered if she was going to make it to the Far Frozen in one piece.

* * *

_**Another chapter finished! I hope you guys didn't mind the violent scene, but I felt it needed to be in here. **_

_**Review please!**_

_**~WildFireBurnsTheForest**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**So this one was rather difficult to write and more of a filler than anything. My writer's block on this idea is becoming more prominent and I'm also restarting school the Monday coming up. It might be a while before I update again, but I'm not planning on abandoning this story anytime soon. **_

_**Warning: Talk about child abuse (not by Danny's parents), adults attacking minors, and attempted molestation. Nothing graphic, but it's talked about. **_

_**If you've taken the time to read my bio, you're aware that I like to write morbid stories focusing on the misery of one character and that's what I'm doing here. No, Danny was not raped so if you're afraid of reading this chapter for that reason, you don't have to be. But the attack does have to deal with the nightmare that was talked about in previous chapters.  
**_

_**Also, many people are seriously hating on Maddie right now. I often like to rag on adult members mistreating the younger characters just because it adds spice and drama to the stories. In this, I'm purposely making Maddie out to be this wicked witch, because that's what I feel she has the potential to be. Some people may not agree with this, and sometimes I myself don't. In other stories I have written and am in the process of writing, Maddie is a kind and compassionate mother only concerned with her son's well-being. But in this story I want her to be one of the main antagonist. **_

**__****_All publicly_ recognizable characters, settings, lyrics, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plots are the intellectual property of the author(s). The author(s) is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended, nor should any be inferred. No profit is being made.**

* * *

"Am I supposed to be able to see all of these wavelengths?" Danny blurted out from his spot on the floor. His still-green eyes were looking around the carriage in wonder. Dora watched the boy with a fond smile.

"I mean I always have seen _some_ of the wavelengths, it's what made it easy for me to navigate through the Ghost Zone at first, but this is _sick_." He seemed to be tracing a pattern only he, and possibly Dora, could see.

Maddie had begun taking mental notes of Danny's weird behavior and even stranger confessions as they continued on with their trip. Maybe this wine could make it where she could finally find out what was wrong with him and why he continued to backtalk and snark at her.

Sam was watching the air through Danny's eyes and was amazed at the colors that flashed through the sky. Usually, she didn't see things through his eyes as easily as he could with her, but due to the alcohol, all of his barriers were completely shut down.

"This is incredible." She murmured to Tuck, wishing he could have taken part in this. Tuck smirked from his spot under the blanket.

Maddie was also taking notes on the other two. There was something here that wasn't adding up in Maddie's book.

"I bet." He drawled as he watched his two friends eye the seemingly empty air. With his glasses, and the technology he installed on them, he was able to see partial wavelength if they were strong enough, so he knew that there was something they were looking at.

"Did you know?" Danny slurred out moments later, completely focused on the wavelengths. "The world's most cynical art student made a wedding dress completely out of divorce papers." Sam giggled as Danny twisted and turned until he had his head resting in her lap.

"It wouldn't surprise me that whenever Sammy gets married—if she ever accepts someone's proposal that is—she would wear something like that." Tucker muttered to himself. Sam rolled her eyes.

"Marriage is bogus." Sam and Danny said at the same time. Danny broke out in snickers because he had been able to say exactly what Sam was going to say. Jake raised an eyebrow. While memories of Danny when they were friends were a bit fuzzy, he remembered quiet vividly that Danny was pretty much a hopeless romantic.

"Since when have _you_ hated marriage?" Lana asked, her thoughts mirroring her boyfriend's. Danny shrugged.

"I don't." He stated. "I just know Sammy was going to say that. She doesn't believe in love and the happily ever afters. She believes in 'long term attraction' and all that crap." Danny sounded sad by that. Everyone knew why, but they weren't about to bring it up. They see the way Sam treats _Tuck_ for saying things like that, and he's one of her two best friends!

It was quiet in the carriage for a few minutes, minus the coos and murmurs coming from the raven-haired boy lying on the ground in a state of intoxication. It ended up him being the one to fully break the silence. It seemed when drunk this boy was just a motor-mouth, the complete opposite of the shy mousy kid who sits on the sidelines and in the back of the classroom.

"You know, in an ideal world no one would talk before 10am." Everyone blinked and stared down at Danny. "People would just hug because waking up is really hard." Danny continued to stare at the air. No one knew Danny could look this innocent.

"Especially if you were out all night hunting down ghosts 'cause they like to come out at night." Everyone stilled at Danny's confession.

"What do you mean Danny? There rarely are any ghosts at night." Maddie replied. Danny snorted and rolled to face his mother.

"That's what you think. But when you're me, you know the truth." He blew a raspberry. "Like, seriously. How many do you think there are?" Maddie stiffened.

"There are usually only four or five ghosts per week." She said factually. Danny snorted while Sam and Tucker tried to think up something to stop the boy from spilling too much.

"Those are just the ones that get reported!" He exclaimed, sitting up Indian style and facing his mother.

"What about all the ghosts that me, Sam, and Tuck take down? What about the ghosts during the night that interrupts my sleep, or the ones that stop the three of us from having a normal afterschool activity. Or even the ones that interrupt my study time, my homework time, my class time, and my free time? Ghosts are _everywhere_ all the time!" Sam and Tuck face-palmed as the whole class turned to the two coherent members of the trio.

"This isn't going to end well." Tuck muttered to Sam.

"What is this I hear about you three ghost hunting?" Maddie hissed. There was no way there was that many ghost attacks! They would have been reported, especially if three amateur ghost hunters were allegedly taking care of the matter. Danny _hated_ ghosts. He was terrified by them, so why would he say he hunts them.

"_I know very well who you are, Dr. Fenton." Walker blurted. "But I assure you, I've got the right hunter over here at my disposal."_ Maddie gasped.

"It's what we do mom!" Danny exclaimed, frustrated with his mother's density. "We hunt ghosts because you guys wouldn't be able to. Ember, Walker, Skulker, Lunch Lady, Bullet, Desiree, Jonny 13, his shadow, Kitty, Nocturn, Spectra, Technus, and Plasmius are just the most common ghosts that attack. There are so many more that just come and go and come and go." Danny blurted, lulling his head back and forth.

"Danny, I think it's time you stop talking." Sam snipped out. She couldn't talk to him through the link; his mind was too jumbled right now.

"But I don't wanna Sammy!" He pouted. "I want Mother to understand." He explained before turning to Maddie and Jack.

"You guys are great scientists, you really are." He started, slurring his words. Valerie looked panicked.

"But ghosts _can_ feel pain, as you saw back there with Walker. They have a wide range of emotions, they really do. So when you guys go and attack a ghost, they _feel_ it! Same with the red huntress! You guys are all shoot first, ask questions never and that's not right! So far, no one has died due to a ghost attack so the ghosts don't deserve to be tortured or destroyed." Danny sighed and ran a hand through his hair. In the back of his mind, he knows that he should stop talking, but his body and mouth just aren't listening.

"But I know. I _understand_. I fight them, suck them back into the thermos, and send them back to the Ghost Zone where they belong. They like the terror of scaring you humans and want to rule the world, but killing isn't their main goal." Dora breathed a sigh of relief. He would have been a merciful ruler, unlike her horrible brother.

Danny turned to Maddie with a glare.

"You have been so lost in your desire to prove yourself as a capable woman in the scientific field, that you've become cruel and cynical to your test subjects. That night you had captured that little ghost girl, ripped her right from her brother, was the night you began losing any respect I had left for you." Maddie flinched while most of the group either stared at Maddie or Danny.

"You were more than willing to torture that _five year old_ little girl in order to further yourself from your competitors. If you had any sort of maternal instincts, you would have recognized that she had died as a _child_. How would you have felt if someone experimented on Jazz?" Maddie and Jack both flinched violently at that visual.

"You got so mad when I released her back into the ghost zone." Danny shook his head and stared out the window in the carriage.

"Her name was Carmen. She was only five when she died in a house fire caused by her druggy mother. Her brother, Angel, was fifteen. He had been out cold after their mother had strangled him. Angel had died of smoke inhalation while Carmen died when the flames finally reached her and Angel's bodies. She had been conscious when she began to burn." Maddie felt her body shake. How did Danny _know_ this?

"I think that's the first time you and I have gotten into a screaming fight with one another. And the first time I stormed out of the house." Nobody spoke. It didn't matter that the girl had been a ghost, how could any human ever do something like that to someone else?

Michelle and Natalia both looked ready to strangle _Maddie_. No one ever had the right to do something like that.

"So you Ghost Hunt?" Jack said slowly, breaking the tense silence and directing the topic back onto Danny. He wasn't surprised that Danny hadn't told them. He knew his son was right. They really did just shoot and never ask questions, unless they had captured a ghost for their painful experiments and dissection. Jack looked down guiltily. Danny nodded.

"Yep." He said, popping the p. "I have been since the accident." Dash looked around, noticing no one but Sam and Tucker seemed to know what was going on. Princess Dora seemed to know too. Suddenly Danny turned to Dora with wide eyes.

"How do you think I died?" Sam cursed silently under her breath as Maddie cleared her throat.

"Sweetie, you are well and alive. Stop this nonsense." She looked over to Jack to share a look about their son's shenanigans, only to see him watching their son curiously.

"Son." Jack cut in. Danny stared up at his father with wide, _green_ eyes.

"Yeah dad?" He questioned innocently.

"Why do you think you died?" There were so many other questions he wanted to ask his son. He had seen his eyes glowing green at the prison so he knew the excuse Sam had tried to use wasn't correct. Though it did worry him that even the princess seemed to be in on whatever was happening with his son.

He also was itching to ask why he and Walker had been talking about him and Phantom as if they were the same person. But that _had _to be incorrect seeing as Danny was very much alive and Phantom was very much _dead_.

"No, I asked Dora first." He exclaimed childishly before turning to said princess. She cleared her throat nervously.

"I don't think this is appropriate for me to discuss, especially with so many people here." She retorted as she placed her flute of wine onto the small counter.

"Danny." Sam tried to warn as he stared up at the princess.

"C'mon _Princino_." He slurred, using the Esperanto word for princess. "Walker mentioned what they thought my death was and it's really got me confused and I just wanna see if he was just trying to mess with me." Dora sighed and stared at Sam for a moment, hoping she would be able to stop this. Talking about one's death wasn't something many ghosts ever did, due to most of their deaths being horrific and Danny wasn't an exception this time.

Sam just sighed. She couldn't shut him up, and things were spiraling out of control. She couldn't think clearly, the effects of the alcohol had seemed over to her, causing her inept to controlling the situation. Tucker was just sitting there speechless, he was so used to Danny and Sam being able to handle and just took the orders they dished out. He liked it that way. Danny was in charge and he and Sam were the sidekicks.

Sure, at first he had been jealous of Danny's ghost powers, but _just_ the powers. He had never been jealous of the responsibility or the burden those powers brought with them. The strength Danny had to have to be able to handle all of it was truly awe inspiring to Tuck.

"You were attacked." Dora whispered hoarsely, trying to keep it from reaching the ears of Danny's parents. She knew and understood that they didn't know about him being a halfa, but she worried it wasn't going to stay a secret if he didn't stop.

"See, that's wrong. I wasn't killed from that attack." He stated, picking something off his jeans.

"What do you mean, Sir Fenton?" Danny blinked and stared up at the princess.

"What I mean, _Princino_, is that the attack you are referencing happened when I was thirteen." Dora's eyes widened. But he died when he was fourteen, so how was it that everyone thought that was his death?

"But how is it that we?" She asked, trailing off at the end. Danny shrugged.

"I have no clue." Danny stretched back.

"Death by electrocution." He stated, looking at each of the occupants in the carriage. His green eyes shone with sadness. Sam gasped as the memory of the portal accident raced through Danny's memory. Because their accident didn't grow until after the accident, she hadn't actually felt the pain and fear he was experiencing as if it were her own. She only _knew_ that he had been in pain, but now with the memories running through his mind, she now understood_ just_ how much pain he had gone through.

"Wait." Sam turned towards him, completely forgetting about the people in the carriage.

"Yes, _belega_?" Sam blushed and Tuck snickered. Maddie couldn't help the small smile as his son actually used the _Esperanto_ word for gorgeous. She still didn't understand how her son knew such a complex and ancient language.

"Um, what were you thinking about when the accident happened?" She asked urgently. Danny blinked before closing his eyes. When he opened them again, they were a bright, glowing blue, scaring the group again. What was with all of these eye colors? Now that Valerie knew the truth, she understood why his eyes were doing this and knew that, once the shock of everything wore off, people would be asking questions.

"I was thinking about you." He stated seriously. "And Tuck." Sam sighed as his mind continued to think back. "I was thinking that at least this time—" Sam felt tears in her eyes.

"We weren't in any danger." Tuck muttered, finally catching up on the conversation. It would make sense.

"What happened to you when you were thirteen?" Sarah inquired, she was one of the first to ask questions. At first Danny didn't answer her, instead he crawled over to Sam and Tuck and sat close to them. Sam was pulled into his arms tightly while Tuck leaned close on Danny.

Jake and Lana glanced at each other in despair. Whatever it was that had happened when they were thirteen had obviously shaken the teens.

"We had all gone to a concert." Danny mumbled, resting his chin on Sam's shoulder. She sat in his lap, in the same Indian style he was as she played with the ring on his finger. There wasn't much she could do to stop him, but it really was his story to tell.

"It was a Sick Puppies concert." He hiccupped. "And we were in the middle of a mosh pit and I got a headache so I stepped out of it. Tucker did too, but Sam stayed in for a bit. Suddenly I _know_ she needs me for something so I run and find that she had been pushed on the ground and was in the process of being trampled." Sam shivered as she felt Danny's emotions as he ran through it. The anger at people at the concert and within himself was astonishing.

"Anyway, once I got her out, she wanted to go outside for some fresh air while we waited for Gerald, her chauffer, to come get us." Sam cringed, she didn't like what was coming up.

"So that's what we did, sat out there waiting for Gerald and just messing around. Tuck was trying to calm us both down, 'cause he's a good friend like that." Danny smiled over at Tuck with an affection smile.

"Anyway, Sam and I had started tossing Tuck's hat back and forth when it slipped out of my hands and landed near the ally a bit of a ways behind me. Tuck went over to get it, but something happened to him and he went further into the ally. It ended up that _they_ had grabbed him." Danny's eyes turned green again and fury burned in his eyes. _This_ was what Jack had seen at the prison. The angry eyes Danny flashed at the ground were the same ones he had seen at the prison when that ghost talked about his clone, and again when Maddie had planned on dissecting Danielle.

"We went to investigate to see two guys dragging Tucker back down the alley." Sam supplied. Danny nodded and looked back up at Sarah.

"It wasn't too hard to distract them enough for Tuck to get away from them." Danny smiled bitterly. "Apparently they weren't used to their victims having friends that were as loyal and protective of each other as we are." Danny shook his head.

"They had then grabbed Sam." Everyone was sitting there with baited breath, terrified to find out what had happened. Neither Jack nor Lancer could breathe while Maddie had tears in her eyes. Most of the kids did, in fact. After everything they've gone through in the past twenty-four hours, they've given up the petty fronts.

Too much had happened, too much revealed about the trio, just _too much_ in general. They knew they wouldn't be able to just go back to their everyday lives after this and pretend nothing happened. No matter what else happens on this trip, they were going to forever be linked by the power of everything that had gone on in the Ghost Zone. Years from now when anyone would hear something about one of the trio, they would forever look back on this trip and just smile a fond smile. They knew this was something that had altered their lives, and for the better.

But right now, they all were feeling rugged and shredded inside. The pain that these three friends had suffered through all their lives was too much to comprehend.

"He had gotten Sam away from those men." Tuck looked over at his best friends. "He had yelled at me: '_Get her to safety. Grab her and get the hell out of here. Don't look back and don't come back. Your lives are more important than mine!'_ So I grabbed her and ran." Danny continued to hold his friends tightly.

"They had been well into beating me to death when some guy that _had_ to have had martial arts training, came in and got them off me." Danny shivered. "Sam and Tuck had returned with Gerald at that time and pulled me away. The stranger that had saved me beat them badly and when the police finally showed up, the guy was already gone." Danny blinked over to Maddie and Jack for a moment.

"Apparently they were wanted in over seven counties for raping and killing young teenage boys." Danny mumbled. "They had been going after Tuck for their unlucky thirteenth victim." Danny shook his head in disgust, while Jake brought a shaky hand up to his lips, his eyes wide.

"D-Danny, did they, oh God. Did they—" For the first time anyone could think of, Lana couldn't simply ask what was on her mind. Danny shook his head.

"No, they were close, but that guy, whoever he was, saved me. They were about to, one was holding me down and the other—" Danny gulped and closed his eyes. "But I didn't have that happen to me, thank whatever higher entity that is out there that they didn't succeed." Maddie sat there shaking, eyes bleary. The nightmare Danny had last night made so much more sense.

"_We were at that concert." _The Sick Puppies concert. Oh, God. Where had she and Jack been during this entire time? Her son could have been ra—she couldn't even think about it.

"_And I had dreamed I hadn't gotten there in time and that they had…"_ It all made so much sense! Why did she just blow off the terror of last night?_ Why_ wasn't she there for her baby boy when he went through something so horrible like this? She cowered into her husband's side as she felt the guilt and horror eating away at her.

"_You've always saved us from anything and everything."_ Why did she get this feeling that they've been through more than just that concert? If the way he had reacted to being tortured by that ghost was any indication, she would say that they must have gone through other things. The pain tolerance her baby showed today was exponential.

Lancer could feel his body racking in shock. He was supposed to be there for his students. There for them to talk to, there for them to listen to, there for them no matter what. He was their teacher, but he was also supposed to be someone who they could talk to if they were afraid to tell their parents. He wondered if Danny would have ever come to him with anything that was wrong. He had definitely given Danny more than enough chances to talk to him.

The pain Danny must be going through constantly to get all of those scars was appalling, _sickening_. And also learning that he ghost hunted constantly, shocking. But it would also explain all of his actions. Skipping class, extra-long bathroom breaks, missing assignments, always tired, random bruises, everything. Ghost hunting made sense.

"I'm so sorry, Danny." Gillian blubbered as he held his younger sister close. He didn't know what he would have done had either his sister or brother had to have gone through what Danny did. Wow, Gillian blinked, he wasn't Fenton to him anymore. Danny was Danny now and deserved so much more respect than he was ever given. Gillian, like the rest of their peers, felt _disgusted _with themselves for how they treated Danny.

"Family is a haven in a heartless world." Danny whispered, causing everyone's head to snap back to him. Tuck and Sam were curled around Danny protectively.

"Christopher Lasch." Sam murmured as she played with his hair gently. Tuck smiled as he rubbed Danny's back lightly. The group was amazed as Danny looked up happily and nodded.

"Look who has been doing her homework!" He exclaimed as he jumped up and turned towards his best friends, the whole serious atmosphere gone.

"Well, you watch Criminal Minds religiously and make us watch it too and—"

"You read my mind." Danny butted in, sinking back down to the floor. She blushed and nodded.

"NCIS is better, though." Danny mused as he stared up at the ceiling.

He sat Indian style and began floating slightly. Not enough for many to notice, but enough for some to notice.

"Um, Danny?" Star cried out as she watched him float slightly. Danny fell back to the floor and looked over at her.

"Yeah _Stelo_." Star didn't know what he called her, but it didn't stop the blush.

"Were you just floating?" He blinked at her before sniggering.

"I don't know." She blinked and looked over at Kwan, who looked just as baffled. Everyone was too much in their own worlds and hadn't paid too much attention. Maddie had gone into a shock-like stage.

* * *

"What if." Danny suddenly stated as he stared up at the ceiling of the carriage. Everyone had been sitting quietly in the carriage for the past half-hour, most opting to sink to the floor and hold to each other desperately.

Danny had sprawled out and laid his head in Tuck's lap before pulling Sam to his side. Tuck was absentmindedly running his fingers through Danny's hair and played on his PDA while Sam laid facing Danny and continued to caress her fingers over his face. She traced his eyes, his lips, his nose, and the one scar that ever stayed on his face. Most of the bruises and cuts were gone and healed by now so she was able to see it.

When the trio had been in fourth grade, there had been a day that the three of them wanted to go to the zoo so Sam's grandmother took them. Sam and Tuck had been goofing around and had gotten a goat rallied up. The goat, angered, kicked out repeatedly. At first everyone had gotten out of the way in time, but this younger girl was sitting there too scared to do anything. Just as Sam was sure the little girl was going to get attacked, Danny jumped in the way and took the brunt end of the hit, leaving a huge mark above his right eyebrow.

"What if people who have anxiety are just unaccustomed to the way the world works because this is the first incarnation of their soul on earth?" Danny suddenly asked. Maddie, who was finally waning from her shock, looked over at her son with disdain.

"Sweetie, incarnations don't exist." She scolded lightly. Danny rolled his eyes.

"And before the portal, nobody really believed ghosts exist." He countered, closing his eyes as Sam ran her fingers over his eyelids again. While she knew Danny had gone through worse than today's beating, she _hated_ seeing it happen, no matter what. A simple punch had her off her rocker and shaking with fear and anger. She hated it. She was always terrified that the day would come where Danny won't phase through her window at three in the morning needing patched up and someone to hold him. Instead, Danny will be lying dead on the cold cement ground, or at the foot of Skulker's bed.

Danny's arm unconsciously tightened around his best female friend as he got tid-bits of thoughts and feeling from her. The alcohol made it where he couldn't feel anything outright through the vine and his mind was way too fuzzy to try and get into her mind.

"And incarnation is very real." He stated as he sat back up, much to Sam and Tucker's dismay. It was rare for Danny to be able to sit in one place for more the ten or twenty minutes at any given time outside of school. It didn't matter if he was simply bouncing his leg or pacing the floor, he had to be moving. The only other times he's still are when he's sleeping, or when he's sketching, but even then he's usually twitching his foot.

With the alcohol in his system, he's taken to sitting or lying completely still for longer moments and the two friends were going to take advantage of that.

"Oh really?" Maddie asked hotly. Jack leaned in eagerly. While he didn't necessarily believe in incarnation, it seemed his son knew a lot more about the supernatural and afterlife than he had ever led on and he was definitely going to listen to what his son had to say.

"Yeah. What do you think happens to the spirits that don't manifest back in here? Their spirits, their actual souls, are recycled and placed into another body. But because of spirits like Dora who don't go back to earth, new spirits come forth." Jack liked Danny's reasoning, though it did make him a bit uncomfortable to believe they had lived other lives with no recollection of it.

Dora smiled down at the boy and nodded.

"Sir Fenton is absolutely correct." She conceded, speaking for the first time in a while. People had still yet to get used to the echo her voice brought out, reminding them that she wasn't human.

"I can remember lives before my last one. They had all been queens and rulers of different times. I believe you humans have popularized _Cleopatra_." Lancer's eyes widened. This ghost, Princess Dora, had been _Cleopatra _at some point. That was incredible! He had never thought he would sit down and speak to Cleopatra herself.

Danny smiled up at Dora.

"Yep, she was the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, probably the most famous too." Dora giggled. Danny turned back to him mom.

"As I was saying about the incarnations, the people who seem to have real confidence and generally don't care what happens seem to be the spirits who have lived more lives before. It's like they, in a sense, already know how the world works. Cool, huh?" Maddie stared with eyes wide. That was interesting. And if, somehow, what Danny was saying was the actual truth, then Maddie would definitely be looking at life a little differently.

Danny suddenly pulled his legs up to him and began to float in midair. Sam and Tuck face-palmed as Danny just comfortably lounged in the air with a smile on his face. Maddie and Jack sat with eyes wide as their son floated around _just like a ghost._ Lancer felt his chest tighten as Danny sat there as if it were natural for him to do so. Paulina almost fainted while Star _did_ faint.

Lana and Jake looked at each other while Valerie sighed in frustration. Now that she actually knew his secret, she couldn't understand why no one had ever put the pieces together. They looked the same, they sounded the same, the only difference between Fenton and Phantom was their eyes and hair and Phantom's confidence. It was amazing how dense the town seemed to actually be.

"Danny." Sam's panicked voice cut through Valerie's musings. She watched as Danny looked over at her for a moment before his eyes widened. The next moment he was back on the ground with a blush on his face. It seemed he was becoming more aware of his actions, but it was obvious the alcohol was still seriously affecting him.

* * *

Dash had wondered if Danny was really that much of lightweight or if the ghost alcohol was affecting him differently. But as he continued to watching Danny he learned he didn't care about that. Things just didn't add up for him, though.

His green eyes had shown themselves when they were at Walkers, and the glowing blue eyes had presented themselves when Sam was patching Danny up. Now he was floating in the air as if it were natural and even seemed embarrassed when he was caught.

"Must just be another side-effect." Tuck dished out nervously. Of course things couldn't go smoothly. Thankfully, they should only have half an hour longer in here and hopefully Danny wouldn't do anything worse, like shoot an ectobeam from his hands or go invisible or something like that.

"Yeah…" Dora tried to help, she really did, but there wasn't much she could do! This was something she had never encountered before seeing as halfas only came into existence recently and Plasmius didn't have to answer to his parents like Danny did. And neither did Danielle, for she lived most of her time in either the Ghost Zone or just flying around the world.

Cujo yapped suddenly before jumping onto Danny. Danny giggled and began to play tug-o-war with the tie Cujo had stolen from Sam, who had stolen it from Danny. He must have sensed Danny was finally healthy enough to play with.

Sam smiled as Danny's eyes began to fade back to their original blue and his eye lids began to droop.

"I'm tir'd Sammy." He mumbled out before yawning. None of the girls couldn't help but coo as he rubbed his eyes sleepily, like a little kid. It was strange to Paulina how attractive he could look one moment, and how innocent and adorable he could look the next. He curled up between Tuck and Sam and tried to hug his knees to his chest. Sam stopped him and made him lay out straight so he wouldn't mess his stitches up.

Paulina sighed as Danny nodded sleepily before pulling Sam to him and nuzzled her neck. She knew that even if she were to seriously pursue Danny, Paulina would ultimately lose him to Sam once they worked out their feeling towards one another.

Tuck just snapped a picture with a smile before throwing the blanket over the couple, and continue trying to get ahold of Jazz, now just to let her know they were okay.

* * *

Jack sat in a stupor the entire time. He didn't understand what was going on with his son. He understood that Sam and Tuck obviously knew whatever secret it was, and so did Valerie if the way she was treating him differently was anything to go by. But what he didn't understand was how or why Princess Dora knew!

Whatever was going on with Danny, it was something so big that he seemed not to trust his parents with it. And Jack was still stuck on everything said back at the prison. Actually, he was stuck on a lot of things.

_"You're not such a tough guy now, are ya, halfa."_ Jack didn't understand. What in the world was a halfa?

_"But I assure you, I've got the right hunter over here at my disposal." _Danny had never mentioned he was a ghost hunter up until today, so why hadn't he ever seen his son at any of the battles he and Maddie were actually aware of?

"_It seems they don't know, do they punk?" Danny snorted._

_"Right, you wouldn't even get the privilege of torturing me if they did. I would have already been dead and dissected." _Why would they have dissected him for being a hunter? Did it have anything to do with Walker calling him a _halfa_ earlier?

_"It's no benefit of mine to tell them. I __like __their agony at seeing you like this. But it is interesting how little you trust your own family." Danny snorted roughly._

_"I trust __my __family more than anything." He hissed. _What was that supposed to mean? Why wouldn't Danny trust them? Jack would walk to the ends of the world for his son!

_"The one you created, correct? Your sister, you girlfriend, your friend, your uncle, oh and let's not forget your clone, Danielle." _Learning that Danny didn't trust him and didn't include him in his 'family' really hurt. But at the same time, Jack knew that he wasn't the best father out there and wasn't too surprised to hear that. Finding out about Danny's clone, Danielle, had been a shock to Jack's system. Scientifically, Jack didn't understand how it as possible for Danny to have a clone.

_How do you know about her?" He hissed, his body shaking in anger. Walker smirked. _Even if he didn't actually have a clone, whoever this Danielle was, she was important to Danny.

_Danny gripped the chains and used them as leverage to lift his legs up close to him. This all happened within seconds and Walker was completely off guard when Danny slammed his feet in the fully corporal spectral, sending him flying into the shield. _Jack had just watched in shock with the rest of the group at Danny's strength to be able to send a ghost two times his size across the cell and into that ectoplasmic, electromagnetic shield Danny had told them about.

_"Don't you dare touch her!" _Jack felt like he couldn't breathe. Danny had been so protective of this person, or clone, or _whatever_ she was.

"_Why do you ghosts always insist on electrocuting me?" _Jack shook. He sounded like he had been electrocuted several times before that day.

_Sam screamed with Danny, falling to her knees as if she were the one taking the blow._He blinked his eyes painfully. He vaguely remembered when Sam and Danny were younger they used to play a game that they had some sort of physic link. It had gotten so bad, that they had begun to believe they really did and Jack remembered how they had to finally put their foot down and force them to stop with the ruse when Danny had gotten suspended for fighting and Sam gotten a concussion in second grade, weeks after Danny's uncle had freaked out on the two for some unknown reason.

But as Jack continued to observe and experiment with the supernatural, he wondered if the two _could_ actually have some sort of bond. It really wouldn't be that far out there.

_"You've been attacking and torturing an endangered species for months now."_

_"With only three halfas in the world and one of them being a clone, I'd consider that an endangered species." _Jack still didn't get that. Danny had been called a halfa, but now he was saying that halfas were a species? And what he didn't get was that one of them was a clone, like Danielle was to Danny. So did that really mean Danny was a different species? But how was that possible? And if that were true, then Danny obviously knew about it, so why wouldn't he have _told_ him and Maddie?

_"Right, you wouldn't even get the privilege of torturing me if they did. I would have already been dead and dissected." _Jack's eyes widened. Of course, Danny would be afraid that they would want to experiment on him if he really was a different species. But what on Earth and the Ghost Zone combined could that species be? And how could Danny, his son, be of a different species? He had been there the day of Danny's birth and he had been human then, he was sure of it!

"_So then there's the fact you've exploited Phantom's death continuously." Walk slammed his fist against the shield in anger._

_"I have never exploited your death!"_ Jack rubbed his forehead. He felt such a headache coming on.

Danny had said _Phantom's_ death, but Walker had said _Danny's_ death.

"_Um, dude. How do you think he died?" _Tucker hadn't even acted like it was weird that Walker had spoken like Danny and Phantom were one in the same.

_"He was in an ally after a concert and with you two twits and was be—." Walker hadn't even finished his sentence before he found himself slammed up against the electric shield._The concert Danny had told them about, when he was thirteen. That brought him back to the conversation that had happened just earlier in the hour. Danny had asked Princess Dora how she thought _Danny_ had died. He hadn't asked her how she thought _Phantom _had died.

She had answered with the attack when he was thirteen, and he had said he hadn't died from that attack. And then, oh god, he had said _death by electrocution._

_"Phantom didn't die until the next year by __electrocution __due to the portal, did you know that?" Danny rasped, his breath was still thin and ragged. "Electrocution, Walker."_ There Danny started again with Phantom instead of himself. He said Phantom died of electrocution due to the portal, but the only one Jack knew that had gotten electrocuted by the portal had been Danny. And Danny had told the princess he died of electrocution. They were acting like Phantom and Danny were the same person, but it was impossible! Wasn't it? Jack didn't know anymore.

"_I'm fine, I've suffered worse."_He had just blown off his injuries as if they were nothing.

_She dabbed gently at his brand before grabbing his wrist and placing his hand on the brand._

_"That needs to cool down." _Jack had been in too much shock to question this when it had happened, just as everyone but Sam, Tuck, and Danny had been. But now, Jack wished to know how putting Danny's hand on it would help cool it down.

_"This isn't good." Sam muttered. Danny slowly opened one blazing blue eye to look at Sam for a moment before closing them again._ Jack had just gotten a glimpse, but his eyes were literally glowing that bright blue glow they had been later on in the carriage when it was getting colder in there

_"Broken ribs." Danny groaned. Sam nodded as she gently pressed against his chest._

_"You also have a broken wrist." Tucker tacked on as he finished taping a small cut on Danny's eyebrows. Danny sighed._

_"Those are probably what my body is trying to focus on healing right now."_Danny hadn't seemed like he was in any pain, though. And Jack _knew_ from experience both broken ribs and broken wrists—hell _any _broken bones—hurt like hell. And yet, Danny seemed to barely notice them.

"_Are you serious?" He hissed, raising himself up a bit with his left elbow. Sam turned away from him as she began to silently dig through the first aid kit. "You are." Danny whispered before falling back on the ground._

_"Danny?" Tucker rasped, staring down at his male best friend. Danny looked up._

_"I need stitches." He explained. _Sam hadn't even said anything, so how had Danny known what she was thinking? They _had_ to have some sort of bond, they had to. There was _absolutely _no other way to explain this away, unless Danny was telepathic. Jack looked down guiltily. If Danny and Sam really did have some sort of link, Jack and Maddie owed the two so many apologies. Sure, one could say—and Maddie would most definitely be saying—that they couldn't have known they were telling the truth, but in the end, they still had been way too harsh on them.

"_Last time she did this she poured alcohol over the wound to numb it so it's a really uncomfortable to feel the needle move in your skin." _Jack didn't like that Danny had gone through getting stitches without any type of anesthetic more than once. Why hadn't he just come to Jack and Maddie so they could take him to the hospital?

"_I'm probably going to have to repeat my sophomore year, Nathan. There isn't going to __be __that type of future for me."_ Why did it seem Danny just _knew_ he wasn't going to amount to anything? He seemed to have admitted defeat. It sounded like he didn't want to not have that type of future, the one where he got out of this town and went off to college, but it was like he already knew there was no way he could have that future.

"_Okay, but you read the law book—which is unnumbered—and in a language you learned in two weeks. Then you used it against the same ghost who created it." _With the way Danny continued to slip into the tongue of Esperanto when he was addressing his friends, Jack had to guess that had been the language Tuck had mentioned the, unnumbered, law book had been written in. Jack didn't understand how Danny had been able to learn such a complicated language in _two_ _weeks. _Jack didn't even know that was possible! And the fact that Danny had stated the exact number of pages, which was unbelievably high, when there had been no numbers was actually a sign of intelligence.

The fact that Danny had either consciously or unconsciously counted the pages was something that had been a part of the I.Q. test in college he had taken. At the very end, once their booklet into the professor, they were asked how many pages had there been in the booklet. It was told that if someone had just known, they were predicted to be in the genius ranking. Jack had passed that while Maddie had not. It was obviously a flawed superstition, but it was still interesting to think about.

"_They were so impressed with your grades they wanted to bump you up to high school."_Again, why hadn't Jack or Maddie known about this? It seemed they should have been contacted about the idea of their son moving up in grades before they went to the child. Or maybe they did it the other way. If the student liked the idea, they would bring it up to the parents, but if the kid didn't want to do that, they would drop it?

_"Um, how exactly did you know that? I only told Tuck and Sam about that; at my house, in my room, with the music blaring." Jake rolled his eyes._

_"Dude, they asked you out in the halls. I was walking past when you turned them down cold." _ Danny trusted Sam and Tucker—_duh—_enough to tell them, but he didn't understand why he wouldn't have told his parents after everything was done and over with.

_"You seem to be an expert at this, Ms. Manson." Lancer commented. _Jack had to agree. It was uncanny how expertly and efficiently Sam had stitched him up. That wasn't a skill you learned from reading book or practicing on fake body parts. The training she had had to have been from actual experience. Why did Jack feel there was more to Sam's medical training than they were letting on?

_"Yeah, she gets a lot of practice on him."_The scars that covered his son's body had to have gotten there somehow and Jack would bet money that Sam was the one who tended to them.

_"You aren't touching her." _And why is Danny so protective of his clone-thing?

_"You're threatening Danielle." _He had looked ready to rip Maddie's head off for threatening Danielle.

_"You aren't talking about the Danielle I'm thinking about, are you?" _Valerie had looked to freaked out, like she had figured out something that she never wanted to know, like how Jack and Maddie felt about Danny's attack.

_"It depends on who you're thinking of…" _Danny had been so cautious and guarded there and when they had been off talking, Jack had watched their body language. He had seen how Sam had been standing in front of Danny as if ready to protect him from Valerie. Valerie had looked upset and miserable. Danny had looked guilty and ashamed, and Tucker seemed conflicted.

Whatever they had been talking about had been really hard on all involved and Jack was happy to see that they had worked it out. But he just didn't understand, what could those four teenagers be hiding?

"_But you can't stop me. You have no rights over her. She's of my DNA. And as far as I'm aware, Jazz actually has first say over what happens to me. Or did you forget signing those papers after another almost fatal lab accident?" _Jack remember when he and Maddie had done that. If there were something to happen to him and Maddie, full guardianship over Danny would be handed directly over to Jazz. But Jazz was also already the primary contact and supervisor over everything Danny. He was right, Maddie didn't have any rights to Danielle.

"_So not only do you not have first say in what happens to me, you also have not rights over Danielle. And trust me when I say I will do anything to protect her, no matter the threat."_Jack didn't like how Danny's barely veiled threat had been directed at Maddie.

The way the entire trio had been ready to defend this clone readily made Jack stop and wonder what the _emotional_ relationship amongst them all might have been. There was obviously something else to Danny and Danielle's feelings other than the original and his clone. Perhaps Danny looked at the girl as family or something?

"_Hello, servant of Sir Phantom." _Why had Princess Dora called Tucker a servant of Phantom? As far as Jack knew, Tuck didn't associate with Phantom. But then again, the way everyone had been transitioning between Danny and Phantom there was a lot Jack didn't know.

_"Oh dear god, what could have happened to you, Sir Phan—"_

_"Fenton, Dora." _Again, another ghost was calling him Phantom. There was something big, right in front of his eyes, but he just couldn't decipher it!

"_Am I supposed to be able to see all of these wavelengths?" _

"_I mean I always have seen _some_ of the wavelengths, it's what made it easy for me to navigate through the Ghost Zone at first, but this is _sick_."_ Jack was still stumped on that, too. Humans shouldn't be able to see wavelengths. Their eyes weren't sensitive enough to pick up on those type of things in the air, but it according to Danny he could. Did this have something to do with this halfa species Danny seemed to be a part of? And how everyone continued to mistake Danny Phantom for Danny Fenton?

Jack's eyes widened.

Danny _Phantom_, Danny _Fenton_.

* * *

Nobody really spoke as they watched the raven-haired duo laid close together. How could two people be so dense to the others feelings? Almost everyone here had known Danny all their lives from camps and school and they remember the 'time before Sam'. Danny rarely ever spoke to anyone before Sam. Everyone thought he was actually mute, even his parents. But then Dash pushed Sam onto Danny and it was like a spark lighted in Danny's eyes. He had jumped up and defended Sam with a vigor no one had ever seen before.

* * *

Tuck shook his head. He didn't understand why Mrs. Manson would think Danny wasn't good for Sam. Danny was the reason Sam was happy, Danny was the reason Sam had the confidence to do anything.

Danny getting sick and staying home was a rare occasion and Tuck could remember those days clearly. Sam was almost subdued. She didn't speak up about morals and ethics, she didn't get into any cat fights with Paulina, or Star, or any other popular girl.

In the beginning Tucker didn't understand how her person could change so much without Danny, but the longer he watched them and thought about it, he figured it out. Sam was too _scared_ to do anything unless she knew Danny was there to defend her. Sure, Sam was a black belt martial artist, but without her knowing Danny was there if things got too rough, she wouldn't do or say anything.

Most people didn't know that Danny was also a black belt martial artist. He had learned from watching Sam's classes and the experience ghost hunting gave him. So if Sam was to get into an argument with the wrong person and they tried to hit her, Danny was more than willing to jump between them. It had happened before.

Mr. Manson knew how outspoken and argumentative his daughter was so when he and Mrs. Manson would force Sam to go along to some sort of function, he allowed Sam to bring Danny along. Tucker, whose parents were almost always invited to the same functions as Sam's parents, has watched Sam get into arguments so fiercely that people had backed away her before.

One time she had gotten in a fight with the father of yet another one of her suitors and after she exposed him as a bankrupted fraud, he had taken a swing at her. His fist didn't even get halfway to her before he found himself on the ground, his face smashed to the floor. Rarely did anyone fight with Sam, and when they did, they had Danny to answer to in the end.

It really did stump Tuck why Danny allowed himself to constantly be bullied. But then again, he guesses he knew. Danny's heart was too big and the boy was too empathetic. He would rather he get hurt than let someone, even a stranger, take it. So when they entered middle school and Dash and Gillian took it upon themselves to start bullying the weaker, it wasn't a shock that Danny stood up to them.

And while Danny may have been Sam's and Tucker's best friend, he was their body guard first and would protect them no matter the cost. There were very few people Danny held close to his heart and Tucker's heart swelled with pride that he was one. He, Sam, Jazz, Danielle, and, quite possibly, Neil were the only ones that were honored of being in Danny's circle and they knew they could come to him with anything and he'd help.

Tucker stared down at the boy sleeping next to him. They had been pretty much brothers since they met way back at the end of third grade and Tuck really couldn't imagine where his life would have been without Danny. Sam was the sister he never knew he wanted but he was more than happy to have her in his life as well.

Sure, the two constantly fought it probably wouldn't be able to handle one another if Danny wasn't there to buffer the worse of their fights, but it was _their_ thing. They liked their arguments over meat and how Tuck would rather sit on the couch than go one a run and then there was their fights about how Tucker should apply himself more in school. He, and Sam, knew that he was more than smart enough to get perfect marks in school, but he just never felt like doing the work to get him there, which frustrated both Sam and Danny to no end.

But it was their thing, something they would probably always do and Tuck wouldn't wish for it to be any other way. He had the perfect two friends that he loved to the end and knew they felt the same. They would always be there for one each other even if they were on the other side of the world, they'd be there in a flash for the other.

* * *

Lancer felt horrible as he stared out the window of the carriage. He felt as if the answer to this gigantic secret was right in front of his face, but he just _couldn't_ see it. He sighed and turned to see release Sam and turn on his back, a frown on his lips. Sam sat up and shivered as the cold air attacked her bare arms.

Lancer didn't understand the relationship between those two. They always acted like a couple, cuddling, whispering to each other, staring at one another, flirting, and the whole shebang. He had kept an eye on the two most of their time at Casper High and he just couldn't comprehend how they could be so oblivious to the other's attraction.

They would always yell at anyone who called them lovebirds, but it really could be considered an honest mistake. Lancer had often made the mistake of thinking they were a couple, as did most of the faculty. But the more he thought about it, he guesses that they could just be so close from growing up together. They only had one another as friends until Tuck came along.

Sure he heard that Lana and Jake had been the closest thing the duo had ever had to friends, but Lancer knows they had only been in each other's vicinities due to them being so alike. It wasn't common for a boy and a girl to be as close as they had been with each other without dating so when they found someone else like them, they had tried to stay close to them.

Unfortunately, Jake and Lana started dating and Tucker came along and the four drifted apart.

Lancer blinked. He was pretty sure Danny and Sam were as close to being co-dependent as they could get before they actually reached it. It seemed the only thing that kept them from falling too into each other was Tucker. If it wasn't for him, Lancer guessed things would be a lot different for the duo.

The way they treated each other when they're lost in their own little worlds makes Lancer wonder what was keeping the two from taking the final leap into dating. It almost seemed that they _knew_ they liked each other, but something was blocking them from reaching that last step. But what could it be?

Everyone from the students to the staff has placed bets on the couple. There wasn't a single student who didn't know who Danny and Sam were and _everyone _thought they should end up together. So what's keeping them? It couldn't be the disapproval of their parents. Danny's seem to already think they're together and Sam seems to purposely go against her parents orders.

Lancer started. What if it _was _their parents? Maddie's hostile reaction to Sam's comparison of her and Mrs. Manson had been a bit startling. So maybe it was their mother's that kept them apart? Hm, this was something Lancer would have to look into further.

* * *

Valerie stared at her feet, her thoughts consumed with Danny. She didn't have romantic feelings for him, but she really did care a lot. Danny had been the first person she could genuinely be herself with. He allowed her to be shallow and conceited, but had no trouble calling her out when she was going too far. He had been the only one to sit there with her as she cried on and on about her _"horrible"_ life.

God, she was so angry with herself. Danny and Cujo hadn't _ruined_ her life. If anything, they were the reason she wasn't the stuck up, conceited witch she used to be. She should be thanking the two for everything they accidentally did. Sure, it sucked not being able to go and do whatever she wanted because there wasn't the money to do that, but that wasn't what really mattered.

She had learned responsibility and how to be happy without money. She learned how genuine the love Tucker, Sam, and Danny had for one another was and she learned that, while they will _always_ be the trio first, they're open to more friends and they wouldn't mind considering her one. It had caused her to break down one night after she dropped them for a chance at her popularity again.

Danny must have felt so guilty, so _horrible_, as she complained about his alter ego so vehemently. She covered her mouth with her hand and closed her eyes to stave off the tears. God, she was so stupid. She should have realized Phantom wasn't bad. With the way he had handled Danielle so gently and had been ready to hand himself over to Valerie if she would just help him save Danielle.

Danielle's human form looked just like Danny's and she had thought that before, but had blown it off as just having Danny himself on her mind. But now she understood that he mind was _trying _desperately to tell her they were one and the same. It was so obvious, but her heart had tried to keep her from realizing it, because she didn't want to think Fenton was bad, or Phantom was good.

God, how messed up was she? She had shot at her only friend so many times. She had tried to kill him. She had tortured him! How could he forgive her after all the crap she's put him through? And here _he_ had felt guilty for keeping his secret from her in fear she'd go after his family.

Wow, he really did have his own family, just like that ghost had said. Sam, Tuck, Jazz, and Danielle _were_ his family and all he had been trying to do was protect what was his. And then there was his uncle. She didn't know much about his uncle, but it seemed there had been something serious that happened between them and she could guess it had played a huge part in why Danny had freaked at the alcohol.

In all actuality, she didn't know anything about Danny's family, or Danny, at all. It had always been Valerie would talk, or complain, or cry, or scream and Danny would listen and console her and distract her from her problems. He had sat there and took all the things she had yelled about his alter ego, knowing that she wanted to kill Phantom. He had, constantly, put his life on the line just to take care of her.

She breathed deeply and faced the sleeping boy with agony. She didn't deserve his friendship. She didn't deserve to be forgiven, and she definitely didn't deserve the second chance he was giving her. But he offered friendship, he offered forgiveness, and he _gave_ her the second chance she was unworthy of and she would be damned if she let it go to waste.

Someway, somehow she was going to earn everything he had given her. She was going to be there for him and would help him in any way she could. She was going to work as hard as she could until she was worthy of being called his friend, no matter how long it took.

* * *

Danny stirred not even a full hour later, the wine pretty much worn off. At first, for one blissful moment, Danny imagined he hadn't done much but sleep the wine off and kept his mouth shut but then his memory busted the bubble. Even before he opened his eyes, people saw his face flame and they know he knew.

"I'm gonna lay here with my eyes closed and hope that if I do this long enough, it'll all be a dream." He spoke out, keeping his eyes closed like he said. Lana giggled as he closed them really tight before opening one eye to look out at his peers.

"I don't think it's going to work, man." Jake laughed as Danny groaned and sat up swiftly, not seeming to be bothered by his wounds. Danny shrugged lucidly.

"A halfa can hope." He muttered before twisting his back to crack it. He moaned happily before laying back down, placing his head in Sam's lap. Sam flicked his eyebrow in warning before focusing back on the book she was reading. She had pulled it out of Danny's backpack with a fond smile.

"I see you found it." He mumbled as he scratched the tip of his neck. Sam smiled down at him.

"Sneaky." She murmured. "But how'd you know I wanted this?" Danny shrugged.

"Believe it or not, I didn't. I was looking for a new book when you and Jazz were trying on dresses and I stumbled across this and thought you may like it." Tucker snickered at how predictable the two were. The two just _knew_ each other, link or no, the just got each other.

"That's so cute." Star cooed as she snuggled closer to her boyfriend. Danny blushed and sat up uncomfortably, thankful when Cujo jumped up and yapped at him. Danny snatched the tie from where he tied it around Cujo's collar and began to play tug-o-war with him again.

Jake snickered at Lana at how blatantly obvious the two were. Dora just smiled down at the halfa.

"So." Danny stated with uncertainty. "Is it too much for me ask for you guys just to forget anything I told ya'?" He was met with silent stares and tears glistening in several of the human's eyes. Even Maddie was back into her trance from earlier. Lana was the first to go over to him and hesitantly offer a hug to the boy. She was known for being rather brash and blunt when it came to everything, but she didn't want to scare the boy from her with forced affection.

He, warily, leaned in and enveloped her in a hug as she gingerly wrapped her arms around the boy.

"You know my and Jake's stance on, well, any and everything, but I really want you to understand something. We may not be close and we may not be anything more than classmates or peers to you two, but we've constantly thought about you guys. You may not always be upfront in our minds, but you two were always there. You guys were our first real friends outside each other, and it's taken us too long, but we really have realized what we've missed out on." Lana pulled back as Jake also walked up to the trio.

"We didn't just drift apart and we both know it. When Tucker came, Lana and I jumped away and turned out backs on you two. We had no right to do that to you guys just because you guys opened your minds to a new friend, but we were young and childish. We believed neither of you thought much more on it after we had told you that we didn't want to be friends anymore, but then we learned the hard way just how loyal you are to someone you had called your friend whether or not they had been cruel enough to renounce you or not." Lana nodded along before taking over. Sam had come to stand next to Danny in support.

"When we were in middle school and you had stopped Jake from getting beat up, it showed me just what kind of person we had missed out on. But we were both too stubborn to do anything but silently help you when the bullying would do physical damage. We were too _cowardly_ to do anything but hand Sam or Tucker some shampoo when they spilled gunk in your hair, or a spare shirt when yours is too dirty to wear." Dash, Kwan, and Gillian both flinched in guilt as their bullying antics were brought in on this. They had a lot of kissing up to do to the smaller teen and they could only hope Danny could find a way to forgive them. They all knew they'd deserve it if he didn't forgive them, and they were already predicting it, but they still owed Danny so much more than they could give.

"But after today, after watching how you would do anything for your family and friends, I've realized there is a lot more to you then you've led on and I—_we all—_owe you apologies." Danny shook his head as Jake and Lana finally finished.

"You _do not_ owe me any form of apology. I didn't try to stop you from leaving and I've done nothing to try to get you guys back." Danny sighed. Paulina rolled her eyes.

"Um, yeah, dork, we do owe you more apologies than we can count. And we owe Sam and Tucker. You guys don't deserve to get dissed like you do. We shouldn't have treated any of you guys the way we did." Star and Sarah were both nodding in agreement.

"We've done a lot of crap to you three, you especially Danny. We've put you through so much for no other reason than our petty differences. We treated you as second class citizen just because we could get away with it." Kwan shook his head in anger at himself.

"But there's something I don't understand with you, Danny." Gillian frowned and faced the teen. "The way you fought with that Ghost shows you know how to fight." Danny nodded nervously.

"Yeah, Sam used to go to self-defense classes when we were younger and I used to watch the classes. We would practice and then ghost hunting kept me practiced." They already knew, so why lie about things that didn't directly affect his human status. Gillian nodded.

"Yeah, so why do you allow yourself to be bullied?" Danny winced at the accusation. He rubbed the back of his neck before answering.

"I'd rather I be the one to get hurt than anyone else. Jake, Mikey, Nathan, none of them ever deserved to be bullied. I would rather deal with the bullying than sit on the sidelines and watch someone else getting hurt. " The three football players bowed their heads in shame. Danny was right. None of them deserved to be bullied, so why did they? Gillian frowned. It's because they got some twisted enjoyment at seeing the fear in their victim's eyes. And how sick was that? They _enjoyed_ causing pain.

Kwan looked out the window in anger. He didn't even like to bully anyone, he just did it because Dash and Gillian made him. One of the things he hated most was seeing people run from him in fear, so why did he allow himself fall victim to peer pressure? Kwan wanted to roll his eyes at himself. He knew why. He wanted to fit in and he knew the quickest way to the top of the food chain was through violence.

Dash stared at Danny, guilt weighing his shoulders down. He could understand this had it been one of Danny's friends that they tried bullying. He still remembered when they were in elementary school and how Danny had technically saved both Sam and Tuck from getting attacked. By Dash nonetheless!

In first grade Sam moved there and everyone wanted to know her. At first, she got along famously with the girls, but still preferred to play alone when they had recess. Dash was, embarrassingly, just as selfish of a kid as he was as a teenager and had wanted to play with the tow truck in the sand box, but Sam was playing with it.

Dash, being Dash, had gone over and tried to forcefully take the toy from her and she wasn't about to have that. They had begun to both tug at the toy repeatedly until Sam pushed him away. He had gotten back up and pushed her down, right onto Danny, who had been walking past the two.

Sam had completely ignored the boy at first, opting to get up and glare at Dash. He had gotten angry when she took the toy back and was about to punch her when he found himself on the floor with a bloody nose from Danny's knuckles. After that Sam and Danny were inseparable.

It wasn't until the beginning of third grade that the duo became a trio. Dash had stolen Tucker's hat and had been repeatedly hitting the scrawny boy with it, teasing him about how weird he was. Angered, Danny had _tackled_ him to the ground and punched him in the face.

Not only had Danny given Dash his first bloody nose in first grade, but in third grade he had given Dash his first black eye. It wasn't until middle school that Dash realized he was physically stronger than Danny, but he had preferred wailing on Jake. When Danny had intervened on his typical beating on Jake, Dash took the advantage and was happy to finally be able to be the one who was beating Danny and not the other way around.

"We should be there momentarily, Sir Fenton." Dora suddenly interjected. Danny looked up, relieved someone was filling the silence.

"Thanks for everything you've done, Dora." He said earnestly. Dora's cheeks turned an odd color of green as she blushed. She wasn't used to someone thanking her for anything.

"It was the least I could do, Sir Fenton." Danny smiled softly at Dora as everyone began to sit back down. The carriage took a steep dive before shaking, signifying they were landing. Once the carriage was settled and everyone had regained their footing, Danny opened to door to come face-to-face with a large, furry ghost with a large smile on his face.

"Great One!"

* * *

_**If you have an idea that you want to see in the story, review and I'll see what I can do!**_

_**~WildFireBurnsTheForest**_


	6. Chapter 6

**So I'm finally back! I know I promised that I wouldn't take so long posting the next chapter and I know that it isn't very long, but I also didn't know that starting school was going to be this hectic and exhausting. Not only have I had to get my schedule changed TWICE we also, regrettably and with much horror, lost a schoolmate this month to suicide. I hope for peace for him and his family.**

**We had a school meeting on suicide prevention and m****y classes were a lot tougher than I expected so I have been stressing myself out a lot the past two weeks since I posted. I feel terrible for not being able to post more often, but I will try and post once a week. Wish me the best!**

******__****_All publicly_ recognizable characters, settings, lyrics, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plots are the intellectual property of the author(s). The author(s) is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended, nor should any be inferred. No profit is being made.**

* * *

"Frostbite!" Danny exclaimed happily before jumping up and hugging the large yeti ghost. He was so relieved. The questions his peers were tossing his way were really making him nervous. They were starting to notice he wasn't as weak, scrawny, and useless as they originally thought and that could mean that, once they got back home, it would be harder for him to fight ghosts with them watching him more closely.

He would have to triple check his surroundings before he transformed. It wouldn't be safe for him anymore, and he'd have to make sure to cut down on the witty banter, too. Ghosts, like Skulker, had a tendency to not only shout out their own secrets, but Danny's as well. They always were calling him a halfa and Danny couldn't have them finding out that Danny Phantom was half ghost. Worse, he couldn't have them finding out that Danny Phantom was half human!

It would lead to too many questions, too many inquiries about exactly who was Danny Phantom, and who was his human half?

Frostbite smiled back happily and wrapped his large, furry arms around the young halfa.

"Did I just hear that correctly?" Maddie hissed to her husband as she watched the two anxiously. There were just too many ghosts near her baby boy for her comfort. How was he able to get so many ghosts to behave? She understood that her son trusted them, but it only made her worry more.

Danny seemed not to believe the truth, but Maddie knew that all ghosts were naturally evil. They are only post-human consciousness, they can't comprehend good and bad and they don't have any humanity. All ghost go on are instincts, but Princess Dora, Brother Time, Walker, they all showed thought process and logic. How was that possible?

Ghosts weren't supposed to be able to think logically or process information. And any type of fear or pain or emotion was assumed to be just a figment of their human memories. But didn't Dora say that she remembered her past 'lives' clearly. So did that mean all their theories about ghosts could be wrong?

Maddie just shook her head and refocused on the matter at hand. This large, furry, yeti, icy ghost had just called her son 'Great One' and she would like to know exactly why he did.

"Perhaps?" Jack offered meekly. Maddie, as if Jack never spoke, stormed up to the two, only to be bewildered when Frostbite jumped in front of Danny protectively. What is the meaning to all of these ghosts being so careful towards her baby boy? She didn't like it. There had to be some sort of conspiracy hiding behind their facades.

"What is going on here?" She snapped, glaring between the yeti and the halfa. Danny shook his head condescendingly before turning to the group as a while and motioning them to shuffle forward and off of the carriage.

Paulina almost swooned when Danny stood there to help the girls down. She waited rather patiently until it was her turn, privately reveled in the feeling of her thin, petite hand being enveloped in Danny's much larger, callused one.

He smiled reassuringly at her before he helped her jump down onto the slippery ground. Was the ground made of ice?

Sam was next and refused Danny's hand, and instead used his shoulder. Tucker rolled his eyes.

"We get it, it's the twenty first century and you're an independent woman and all. But I don't see how allowing Danny to help you down is giving up your independence." Paulina frowned as the duo rolled their eyes.

"Technically, I did allow Danny to help me down. I just used his shoulder instead because it's still hurt from having those cuffs on for all those hours." Paulina blinked. What? Had they really been at Walker's prison that long? She frowned. Danny had already been awake when everyone else awoke. It made her wonder just how long he had been there before they saw him. He had already been hurt when the wall disappeared and then he suffered more once they were awake.

Paulina sniffed sadly. That boy did not deserve the pain he has gone through.

Tuck nodded worriedly. Frostbite frowned and stared down at the halfa. Danny just turned and helped the ghostly princess down. Everyone now watched as Princess Dora also used his shoulder with a grateful grin.

"Why thank you, Sir Fenton." She said kindly once she was safe on her feet. Chasta and Cujo jumped into Sam and Tucker's arms respectively while Danny stepped over to Frostbite again. Maddie, who was getting aggravated at being ignored by her only son, growled and stormed over to the young halfa.

"Well?" She spat out, garnering the attention of everyone near them. Several other yeti-ghosts had stepped forward to greet the humans now stood ready to defend dare she attack or threaten either their leader or Great One.

Frostbite lifted the fatigued boy into his arms protectively. Due to the wine Frostbite could smell on Danny, Frostbite knew he was healing, but he still sensed Danny's weakness due to blood loss.

He didn't know what had caused this mutilation, but he was going to find out and they were not about to get away with it. Princess Dora stepped in front of Maddie quickly.

"Sire Fenton needs immediate medical attention, Mrs. Fenton." Dora stated bluntly, her voice steady and firm as she stood between the ghosts and the ghost hunters.

"He's lost a lot of blood and needs an infusion as soon as we can get it to him." Danny yawned and curled up in Frostbite's arms. Sam smiled softly at the two and rubbed under Chasta's chin.

Jack placed his large hand on his wife's thin shoulder, halting her actions.

"We have all the time in the world to speak to Danny later." Jack smiled up at his son softly.

"Right now he needs to be taken care of and that should be at the top of your priorities, Mrs. Fenton." Tucker stated monotonously. Maddie flushed and looked away. She didn't want to back down, but her son's health should be her main concern and her answers could wait until a safer time.

"Fine, but when we get home, you have a lot to answer to Daniel!" Frostbite had turned towards Tuck and Sam before Maddie even got half-way through her sentence.

"I will have our deputy show you two to the guest chambers in which you and your company will occupy tonight while we attend to the care of Great One." He informed them as one of the yeti's stepped up, eying Danny's weakened body warily. The boy was at such a young and tender age, yet he had the body of a conditioned fighter. It was a shame, really, that so much responsibility was bestowed upon the boy.

"Thank you." Sam stated, an exhausted smile stretching across her lips. Frostbite nodded gaily before flying off with the now sleeping halfa in his arms, several of the yeti-ghosts and Princess Dora following closely behind. Maddie bit her lip. She wasn't very fond of the idea of leaving her baby boy in the care of these ghosts, but right now she was forced to quell her paranoia for Danny's sake.

"My name is Freeze." The deputy spoke after a moment of everyone staring off after Danny and Frostbite. He was well aware that the Great One kept his identity a secret from most of the humans in his half-life. Freeze understood that the entirety of the clan will have to tread carefully around these humans.

While they may have been dense and ignorant coming into the Ghost Zone, but Freeze saw the enlightened gleam in the children's eyes. And the two males seemed to have some sort of clue as to what was going on. Thankfully the most dangerous out of the group—the woman—seemed to be completely oblivious to the matter, but that did not rule out her drawing her own conclusions and attacking without proof. He would have to make sure the rest of the clan was on high alert when it came to these humans.

"Please follow me." He stated, pointing to the large village behind him.

Plus, it would be interesting to observe these humans. Seeing that the Great One's friends weren't too bothered by the abnormal—Great One was a hybrid for icicles sake!—so they weren't the greatest subjects to study on their species. These human, though, seemed to be the typical, ignorant human and Freeze was dying to learn more about their counterpart species.

Everyone followed as Sam and Tuck now took the lead. Without Danny it seemed that their next best options would be his two best friends, who seemed comfortable in the large yetis' presences. Lancer had a crippling feeling the Trio has been in the Ghost Zone a whole lot more than they said at first. He tensed. Though, Danny never actually gave an exact number, they just drew their own conclusions. He glanced back up to see Sam and Tuck standing together on Freeze's left.

It saddened Lancer that they seemed more comfortable the entire time they've been in the Ghost Zone than Lancer's ever seen the at school, except when they were over at their lunch spot outside. It was almost like they understood the ways of these ghosts better than they understood their own species. Lancer tilted his head to the side.

They always were firm supporters of Danny Phantom, even though he hadn't always been so 'good'. Lancer himself was quite impartial on the spectral being. Granted he had had a rocky start when the town became aware of him, he had seemingly been doing good deeds ever since. Though the city definitely paid for the damage that was caused from whichever ghost slammed the poor boy into buildings and cars and sometimes even the street just to spice things up.

He was getting better at that, though, and seemed to be going intangible more often when he about to become intimate with a really solid wall. Lancer didn't understand that too well. According to Jack and Maddie, ghosts could rarely touch anything in the human world and yet Danny Phantom was always crashing into things. Did that mean that their theory was flawed?

Lancer snorted. Mrs. Fenton was way too bull headed and closed-minded to ever admit that she was wrong. It made a person wonder how she was in the business of hunting ghosts when she was so closed-minded. He shrugged. Just another thing that could only be explained by 'Because their the Fenton's'. There wasn't anyone else in Amity Park like the Fenton's and for that reason many people just brushed of their weirdness as just being a Fenton.

"So." Sam stated eagerly as she walked between the ghost and one of her best friends.

"How's Chill doing? We didn't see her when we had dropped Danielle of after Walker tried to attack the lair." Freeze smiled down at the girl happily. m

"She was out patrolling when you dropped off Lady Fenton." He informed her. Maddie frowned. No matter what people say, this Danny-clone was never going to be a Fenton.

"And now she's heavily pregnant with our first daughter!" Sam's eyes widened comically and actually squealed before she jumped up and hugged the yeti around the neck. Paulina stood still, shocked that Sam could sound so girly! It was almost disturbing that she could sound like that.

"Congratulations!" She cried out as she released the ghost's neck and jumping back onto the icy ground. Sam jumped up and down as they continued to walk. Tuck watched in amusement.

"Danny told us you've been trying for a little girl for a while now. Have you thought of names yet?" Maddie blinked and turned to her husband.

"Pregnant?" She hissed out in a daze. Jack just glanced down at her distractedly.

"Hmm? Oh, apparently so." He mumbled to appease her. Right now, his mind was just too consumed with everything else to deal with his wife going on a tangent about the impossibilities of ghost pregnancy.

* * *

He was still trying to wrap his head around how someone could be ghost and human at the same time. He didn't understand how his son could be a ghost and a human at the same time. How would he not know that his own child wasn't fully human? Did this mean that Danny had somehow died?

He didn't want to believe it, there had to be some mistake! But, the more he thought into it, it would make so much sense. Danny had mentioned that he died by electrocution and Phantom died from the Fenton Portal, electrocuted due to the portal to be exact. Jack gulped.

It would explain so many different things about both his son though. The late nights, curfew breaking, grade dropping, the secretive behavior, always being tired, not eating much, falling asleep in class, all the ghost equipment going off on Danny, snappish and stand-offish behavior, the sudden disappearances, and the sudden appearances when they had been hunting Phantom.

Jack wanted to smack himself. He hunted his own son! And yet Danny still seemed to love them, even after everything they called him. Jack sighed. As much as he would like to stop and reside on the fact that he and Maddie have been horrible parents to Danny, he knew that dwelling on their incompetence wasn't going to change anything.

His entire life's work was completely wrong. Ghosts can feel pain, they do have emotions, there are good ghosts, and now they can have children! He needed to talk to his son alone soon, just to get the chaos that was his mind cleared up.

* * *

Paulina and Star were huddled together with Sarah, struck stupid on how girly the Goth was acting. Sarah frowned. But then again, you didn't necessarily have to be girly to act it. She sighed. There was so much that she—and all of Amity Park—didn't know about this mysterious, secretive, tight-knit trio and Sarah felt horrible she was ever a part of the gossip that tore those three down.

Looking over, she noted that Valerie was too absorbed with her own thoughts to take in what was going on in her surroundings. Whatever was Danny's largest secret, that cocoa-skinned girl had become privy to it. While Sarah felt some envy that the sassy teen knew, but refused to tell them, she also saw the pain and sadness and guilt that were eating away at Valerie. Whatever the huge secret was, it definitely had its effect on her, and it just made Sara all the more fearful to find out what it was. But her damned curiosity always got the better of her. She really wanted to know, but was terrified that, once she knew, it would be too much for her to handle.

She turned to see Mr. Fenton was almost as bad off as Valerie. Maybe he figured out what the secret was too? It really wouldn't surprise her. Just like her, Mr. Fenton was often thought to be nothing more than a bumbling fool in the eyes of society, but there was a lot more to both of them. She was always thought to just be the preppy little sister to the first-string running back and second in command of the cheerleaders.

She knew that there was a lot more to Mr. Fenton. She understood he was over the genius level and that he was formally Dr. Fenton. While she credited herself for being rather intelligent, she knew she would never reach the intellect of any of the Fenton's, including Danny, she felt rather perplexed that she hadn't been able to get a clue in on the secret. And here she always prided herself on having wonderful deduction skills, and yet she seemed unable to get even a granule of information about the secret.

Mrs. Fenton seemed to be frozen. It was probably from her son being taken away from the rest of the group, willingly, in the arms of a huge ghost.

Dash, Gillian, and Kwan were all still in their slumps. It was pretty obvious they were deep into berating themselves for everything they've done to Danny. Sarah also was extremely ashamed for what she had done to the other teen, but she also knew that thinking about and staying in the past wasn't going to fix anything ever. She would have to look forward, find a way to make it up to the trio. It was the least she could do.

Jake and Lana had taken to watching the trio carefully, hoping to figure out what was going on with their former friends. Michelle and Natalia were clinging to their brothers to notice much else rather than where to put their feet. And Mikey and Nathan were busy trying to make sense of the enigma that was Danny Fenton. It was strange to think that the goofy, quiet kid in the back of the classroom could be so much more given the right terrain.

* * *

"We were thinking Polar Night." Freeze smiled nostalgically. "After Polaris, who sacrificed her existence to protect my wife in an attack that happened a year ago today." Sam smiled softly, placing her rather delicate hand on his icy arm.

"Frostbite had mentioned her to us before. What she did for you and your wife was incredible, Freeze." Freeze smiled down at the Goth and nodded silently. No one else spoke until they were finally at a metal door.

"This is the entrance to the guest chambers." He stated as he opened the door for the humans. Once in, they noticed that the chamber was a large room filled with large, queen sized beds and a few doors placed around the room.

"There are two hot springs that are used for bathing behind the pink and blue doors, females and males respectively." He informed before turning to Sam and Tucker.

"Due to the attack from Walker and his minions, Great One's Chambers are in need of repairs." Sam nodded.

"We'll be fine staying here with the rest of our class." Tucker spoke up confidently. Sarah blinked. How strange it was these two seemed so much more relaxed and comfortable in the Ghost Zone than they ever did on Earth? Though, anyone could tell they were a little unsettled without Danny to lead them. Most people thought that Sam was their leader, but without Danny, there was no way Sam and Tuck could handle one another.

"We placed all of your belongings that we could salvage from his chambers in the closet behind the green door. The black door holds a closet with extra garments, in which you can wear while you wash your articles of clothing." He motioned to each door.

"There is to be a feast within the next few hours in honor of Polaris's memory. With the sudden number of added guests, it may take a bit longer for us to prepare the food." Sam grinned sheepishly, but Freeze brushed her off.

"We are always happy to assist Great One." Sam then nodded her thanks as several of the unnamed yeti's left, leaving just Freeze and the humans.

"Where is Danielle? Danny's been driving me and Sam up a wall for the past few weeks in worry since the last time they saw each other." Freeze smiled vivaciously.

"Lady Ph—Fenton will return with our latest hunting party shortly." Freeze mentally berated himself for the almost-slip.

"She has adapted to our ways almost as easily as Great One had. And she early helps out all around Far Frozen when she's not with Chill and the other children at school. She definitely is the clone of Great One." The amusement in his voice was evident. It always amused him of the similarities between the two. He understood the concept of them being identical, but he also understood that they could actually be identical, due to her being female.

Their labs were still working on how she became a she and not a he. Vlad must have done more than just simply cloning Danny. They've already tested to see if, perhaps, Vlad somehow managed to mix Danny's DNA with a female's DNA to essentially create a daughter, but Danielle was one hundred percent Danny. Right now all they could do was run more tests and hope they found something.

Sam giggled in amusement.

"Danny is a bit too selfless at times, isn't he?" Freeze chortled his agreement before bidding farewell and leaving the humans alone.

* * *

"Do you guys think it's really that safe for Danielle to be out hunting?" Valerie's panicky voice broke through the otherwise silent room. Sam and Tucker, and the rest of the class, tuned to the sassy girl.

"Val." Sam stated. "She's Danny's girl." Maddie frowned. She didn't like how Sam acted as if she were something of import to Danny. "Of course she'll be safe." Valerie sputtered.

"It's just that if Walker was after her, then maybe Plasmius is still after her! She may be Danny's clone, but she's still a four mouth old baby stuck in the body of an eleven year old little girl." Valerie was close to a full-on panic attack by now. Tucker smiled easily at her.

Lancer wanted to know how Valerie suddenly seemed to be in the know. This was more than just learning whatever secret Danny had. It seemed that maybe, just maybe, Valerie also had her own secret.

"Val, she is safe." Sam nodded as Tucker continued. "If you think the affection the Far Frozen shows for Danny is bizarre, Danielle has everyone wrapped around her little finger. There isn't a single yeti here that wouldn't protect that little girl." Maddie frowned. That kept itching at the back of her mind. How in the world could this 'Danielle' thing be a clone if it was female? In theory, cloning would have to be the exact replica of the original, which happened to be a male here. She huffed silently; this just made her want to get her hands on this thing even more!

It was obvious that going the direct route with her plan and just taking the 'clone' wasn't going to work for her. But if she could get on Danielle's good side and get it to trust her long enough to get it alone… Maddie inwardly smirked, a malignant twinkle forming in her eye. Yeah, that's what she'll do. Hopefully now that Maddie and Jack know about this 'clone', Danny will feel obligated to bring it back with them to Fenton Words with them. It'll be much easier to get her claws in it and finally get her answers if they were on her territory.

Sam briskly walked over to the green door and opened it to reveal a rather large walk-in closet full of some of various things. Shampoo, conditioner, and body wash bottles lined one of the shelves along with wash clothes, loofas, and towels. Another shelve was dedicated to just notebooks. Stacks upon stacks of notebooks and composition books that all seemed well worn in. Perhaps they were journals? But that seemed way too many for just one person.

Maddie blinked. Maybe they were a collection of Danny, Sam, and Tucker's journals? She's never seen such notebooks in her baby boy's room, though. She frowned. In all honesty, she hasn't been in her son's room in months. It seemed like the first thing she should have done when he began being so secretive, but she just never thought about snooping through his personals to figure it out. While she didn't like the breach in privacy that would be to her son, she believed that she didn't have much choice if this was how Danny was going to continue to act.

There were clothes folded and stacked on several of the shelves, along with stuffed animals, toys, photo albums, and various boxes. Everyone watched as Sam pulled several of the shower products down and handing them off to whoever she could reach.

"Thankfully, because mine and Danny's hairs are so sensitive to products, we have to constantly change our hair care so we have a lot to spare." Maddie frowned. Her son didn't have sensitive hair, did he? She was disturbed that she honestly didn't know the answer to that.

"I suggest we hurry and get clean as soon as possible before Danny or Danielle or both get here." The others nodded along, thankful to have some sort of plan worked out for them, even if it was just to go get bathed. Tucker handed out the men shampoos to all the guys before trailing over to the aforementioned white door and revealing a closet stocked full of white bath robes hanging from hangers. A large, industrial sized washer and dryer sat in the back.

"Due to us three, and Danielle, often staying here, they've acquired some human commodities so we will be able to clean your clothes while we're all getting bathed." Tucker explained as he pulled as he handed out robes Sam continued to distribute her hair products. Valerie, after a moment of uncertainty, jumped in and helped dish out towels. Everyone just silently accepted their offered items, all watching the three teens with eyes like hawks. Every one of the humans who didn't already know Danny's secret were itching for some sort of clue to help them figure it out, not even bothering to look to the past conversations that Danny had had with the various ghosts. They were far too fuzzy in everyone's minds for them to make left or right of them. Except for Lancer and Jack, they could hear each and every word hashed out in the past thirty-six or so hours.

* * *

Once everyone was in possession of everything they would need, they were sent off to their respective hot springs with the instructions to pile their clothes near the door to get washed once they were in.

Valerie held back with Sam and Tuck, eager to talk to the two without worrying about someone else eavesdropping.

"Sam, Tuck." Valerie stated out once the doors both closed. The two looked over at the rather opinionated girl nervously. They were exactly sure how to handle Valerie without Danny there. He had always been the one best at reading people and knowing what to say.

"Yes, Valerie?" Sam asked cautiously, keeping her guard up just in case she was required to defend herself, or Tucker. Valerie shuffled her feet restlessly in front of them for a moment before eventually sighing in defeat.

"I might have apologized to Danny already, but I need to apologize to each of you as well." Valerie puffed out a breath in frustration. Sam just crossed her arms over her stomach and raised an eyebrow, goading the other girl to continue.

"The things that I have done, the things I've said and the entire time you two stood by Danny's side and with what he decided. I now understand why you were so against Danny and me dating, I thought you were just jealous, but…" Val trailed off. "I just wanted to apologize to you guys for making you put up with all of my incompetence." Sam smiled at Valerie gently. No one noticed when the door to the female's hot springs opened up and Maddie peeked out, looking for the two girls. She stilled when she saw the three teens talking together, seemingly about her son.

"I haven't always been you biggest fan, due to your attitude towards him and, yes, partially from jealously, but none of us ever blamed for your—albeit unwarranted—anger. We understood that, from your point of view, it really did look like he had done some of those horrid deeds on purpose. But what I have faulted you for is not listening to Danny. He tried on so many different occasions to explain to you and you just refused to hear him out." Valerie looked down in embarrassment. Maddie just scrunched her forehead in confusion. What on Earth could her baby boy have done to get this Valerie girl so upset?

"I've got a lot of making up to do, but I'm willing to work for his forgiveness." Tucker smiled sadly.

"That's more than I could probably say for most that have done him wrong." Maddie's shoulders sagged. It was a shame, really, to know that her son was constantly hurt and humiliated for what her and Jack do for a living. It hurt her to know that her son used to be so ashamed of what they do that he refused to speak to anyone who knew, for he was positive they would constantly make fun of him for it.

Valerie suddenly straightened up and turned to Sam, a wry grin on her lips.

"So, you were jealous." She stated, reveling in the flush that overtook Sam's pale cheeks.

"You have to understand that I'm the only constant female companion in his life since we were seven." Maddie rolled her eyes at Sam's rather inaccurate statement. She and her daughter had also been in Danny's life and for much longer than Sam had.

"Sure, you could count his sister and mother." Tucker stated. "But Danny's been emotionally distant from his entire family for as long as either of us can recall." Sam nodded and continued for him.

"He and Jazz are a lot closer now than they've ever been, but there is still a barrier that Danny has yet to drop between them." Valerie's expression was one of pity.

"Sam has always been the one to take care of him when he was sick, the one to be there for him on his birthday when his parents forgot it because they're too busy with their newest invention." Maddie flinched. That couldn't be true! They always celebrate Danny's birthday! And he's rarely ever been sick and, thankfully, it's never been life threatening.

"She's his emotional support, his rock in the storm of his hectic life." Tuck continued. "You know how he used to be in elementary school better than I do, so think back and remember before and after Sam." Valerie closed her eyes, tears coming forth.

"He was so withdrawn due to how much we would taunt and tease him because his parents were ghost hunters." Maddie bit her lip. She never knew that that was the reason her son had just stopped talking. She had just chalked it up to him being antisocial and not being able to make friends.

"He never spoke; he rarely ate because we'd take his food from him. He never brought anything to show-and-tell and he just always allowed everyone to push him around." Valerie shook her head. Maddie felt herself choke up. These kids had starved her baby? How had she not known that? She looked down. Here she assumed Danny had inherited her petite size, but now she wondered if he would have been more like his father, had he not been starved so much. She remembered nights where she would have to leave the kids to fend themselves for a night when she would have to go to the hospital, or they got a lead on another ghost. She wondered just how much her son actually ate when he was younger.

"And then Sam came alone." Tuck stated, staring down at Sam sadly.

"He actually smiled." Valerie said forlornly. "I can actually remember the first time he smiled in class." She shook her head. "I remember the first time Sam actually made him laugh. How sad is it that we were actually shocked when he began talking again?" She felt sick to her stomach. So did Maddie. She never really put much thought in how much Sam really affected her son's life. God, if it wasn't for Sam, her baby boy might not have ever spoken again! Sam finally looked up, tears brimming in the corners of her amethyst orbs.

"We've been there for each other through so much, Tuck too. We love Danny with all of our hearts and would gladly take a bullet for him if he would actually ever allow that." Her tense stature tensed even more.

"We get as jealous of him with someone else just as much as he does when it's one of us with someone else. It doesn't matter the relationship status that we might have with this other person, romantic or platonic, it'll always bother us when we see one with someone who isn't the one of us." Tuck shook his head. He understood that their bond was borderline possessive with one another, but after you go through the things they've gone through, you tend to keep what you cherished the most close to heart. Sam sighed.

"We need to get cleaned soon. Danny's in the healing chamber right now and should be out within the hour." Maddie took that as her cue to slip back through the door and didn't waste another second; she honestly didn't want those kids to know she was eavesdropping on them. The information that she had just received on her baby was astounding. There was obviously so much more to her son than she was ever led to believe. This was going to take some time for her to analyze.

* * *

By the time everyone was washed and refreshed, all of their clothes had been washed, dried, and sorted thanks to Frostbite's modified systems and Sam getting the quickest shower.

"It feels so nice to be clean again!" Paulina exclaimed, sitting on one of the beds tiredly. Star sat on the bed with the popular bobble-head, shoes still off her aching feet. Star didn't realize just how much she had taken advantage of her feet. She shifted awkwardly, conscious of Sam's fingers gently running through her wet locks as Sam blow dried Star's hair. Sarah just sunk lower onto the bed all the girls were occupying.

"Yeah, it's definitely something we've learned never to take for granted. It's why we all showered right before we left earth." Tuck spoke up from his spot on the floor, near an outlet. He was busy charging his various electronics, happy that none of them got permanently damaged when Skulker messed with them. He was even happier that none of their data was missing or stolen. Maddie and Jack had been astounded how modern the room was.

As of now, Maddie was laying lazily in her husband's arms as all the teenagers did their thing. Her mind was whirling between what her son's friends had said, and this 'clone'. On one hand, Danny has suffered enough backstabbing and pain that she really should just leave him and this thing alone. He seemed to really care for it and if he was happy, that should mean something to Maddie, right?

But on the other hand, the scientific discoveries that could come from this thing's DNA structure and —if it had one— was almost too tempting to pass. Could she really take this thing away from her son if it wasn't hurting him? She rarely has seen Danny happy, always seeming nervous and depressed, and if this thing was cherished by Danny, she really couldn't do that to him.

She decided that she'll think of ways to get this 'Danielle' girl to trust her and go from there. If Maddie herself deemed her safe enough to be around Danny, then she'll do nothing more than force some blood tests on the girl along with a few other tests, but nothing 'deadly'. But if this clone didn't measure up, Maddie had planned some rather invasive tests that would eventually lead to dissection and total inhalation.

If this clone was anything like Danny, then Maddie could get Danielle to trust her by just talking about astronomy to just get her interest. Hm, maybe it wouldn't be as difficult as she was making it. After all, this thing was her son's alleged replica, so she'll just have to recall how Danny was at twelve. She grinned, easy.

But then she frowned. Maybe it wasn't so easy. In all honesty, the only thing she can remember about her son was that he liked astronomy. The rest of her mind was a bit on the blurry side. She shrugged. It must just be from exhaustion. After a good night's sleep she'll be at her a-game and able to figure out exactly how to approach Danielle. It wouldn't stop her from trying now, but she would make sure to take some precaution.

Jack stared down at his wife, unease filling the pit of his stomach. She had been a little too quiet for his comfort. While he was the louder of the two, always shouting and bumbling around, it was Maddie that was almost always muttering _something _under her breath about different things that may be on her mind. But here Maddie was lying tense and silent, it was rather unsettling.

Lancer sat on another bed, across the room from Maddie and Jack. For once in all the years Lancer had worked around kids—these kids especially—he noticed something that was, to him, awe-inspiring. They weren't in their usual social circles. When they had been stuck in the Trivia room, the kids had kept mainly to their rankings, but as the day, then night, and day again blurred on, these kids have united.

He looked around thoughtfully. All the girls were huddled on the largest bed—a king size mattress with a black comforter with Phantom's DP insignia on it. At first everyone had avoided the bed until Sam plopped down directly in the middle.

According to Sam and Tucker, Jazz thought it would be funny for them to have a Danny Phantom bedspread here. They had looked highly amused, while the others didn't really get the joke. Jack and Valerie tried, and tried hard, to keep their laughter down. Sam and Tucker had discreetly been watching Jack ever since then.

He knew they were suspicious of him now. He made a resolve to get the trio alone later to talk to them. Keeping it a secret that he knew their secret wasn't something Jack could do. He was surprised, though, to find Jazz knew about Danny. But it would also explain their sudden closeness. Jazz and Danny had never been close, not until this year, that is. It made sense, now that Jack thought about it.

There were only nine other beds, and Lancer knew they were going to be pairing up for the night. Luckily they were queen sized beds. Once Sam finished drying Star's hair, Lancer stood up to garner everyone's attention.

"We only have nine beds, so people are going to need to pair up for the night. Quickly choose your bed and place your backpack on it. And _please_ stay with your own gender." Sam and Tucker placed their bags—and Danny's—on the large bed as all the girls ran off excitedly, all trying to figure out whom they were bunking with.

Once the commotion wore off, Lancer took in the situation.

"Alright, so we have Mikey and Nathan, Michelle and Natalia, Lana and Valerie, Gillian and Jake, Dash and Kwan, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, and Star, Sarah, and Paulina." Lancer looked around at each other beds.

"That leaves two beds for me, Samantha, Tucker, and Daniel. And I thought I said to stay within your gender, Ms. Manson." Sam rolled her eyes.

"Mr. Lancer, with all due respect, Tuck, Danny, and I grew up together. It's not the first time we have shared a bed for the night." Lancer looked a bit uncomfortable with the situation, but finally sight and nodded.

"Fine, but no funny business." Tucker snickered while Sam nodded curtly.

* * *

Silence had washed over the room as everyone relaxed on their beds.

Everyone jumped with the main door burst opened to reveal a small girl with long, black hair and wide, icy blue eyes. Her eyes widened even more as she scanned the room before they landed on Sam and Tucker. Forgetting the rest of the people in the room, the little girl pelted towards the two familiars and clung to them tightly.

"Sam, Uncle Tuck!" She squealed. Sam and Tuck both grunted at the impact before holding back just as tightly.

"Danielle!" She cried out, relief evident in her voice. She released her family then blinked in realization.

"Where is Danny?" Her baby blue's widened.

"He's okay, right? Oh, God. He's not captured, or hurt, or dead? Please tell me he's okay!" She wailed, tears springing to her eyes. Maddie felt something pull at her heartstrings as she took in the little girl. She honestly looked devastated at the thought of something happened to Danny.

Sam quickly picked up the girl.

"Sweetheart." Her voice was gentle, motherly almost. "Calm down. Danny is with Frostbite right now." Danielle visibly relaxed.

"We had a little run-in with Walker, but Danny's safe, we're safe, and what matters the most is that _you_ are safe." Paulina was once again shocked by the differences in Sam's character.

She looked so caring and gentle to this girl, almost motherly. Paulina blinked. This little girl was a clone so that meant she didn't actually have parents, right? That made Paulina wonder, because she's Danny's clone, did that mean that Mr. and Mrs. Fenton would technically be her parents? Or did Danny take over that role? And what about Sam? Paulina was positive Sam was acting extremely motherly to this little girl. It wouldn't surprise her if it was true. Sam was probably the only woman that would ever fully understand and accept a clone of Danny's as a daughter, for her love for the boy would definitely extend to Danielle.

Star melted as the little girl's large, blue eyes began roaming around the room nervously. She stopped at a familiar face, her expression turning to fear.

"Valerie…" She yelped nervously.

Oh God! There was no way Valerie wouldn't be able to piece everything together! Now Danny's secret was on the line! What would Valerie do with the information? And was she mad at Danny? Danielle? Sam? Tuck? She was such a bad clone! How could her original love her when she was such a screw up?

"She knows already, Dani." Tuck mumbled assuredly, rubbing her back. Danielle blinked. Oh.

"Are you mad at me?" She whispered bashfully. Everyone's heads just swung back and forth except for a select few.

Sam and Tuck stared at Valerie, silently daring her to be mean to the mini-Danny. Jack couldn't take his eyes off the little girl. It had taken him forever to get used to how identical Danny and Dan had looked, and now he sensed some déjà vu.

Same eyes, same black hair, same innocent, deer-in-the-headlights look Danny constantly had. Same everything. Wow!

And what's more, if she was Danny's true clone, she would also have his Phantom gene, right? Jack's eyes widened. He finally realized Danny was Phantom, and now there're two Phantoms!

"What?" Valerie looked shocked. "Girl, I have absolutely nothing to be mad at you, or Danny, Sam, or Tucker for. You were all just doing what you thought was best for your family." Danielle smiled happily; relieved Val wasn't mad at her, before running into Valerie's arms. She may love Sam and Tucker with all her heart, but Valerie was had been her first, and only, actual friend.

"I'm so sorry girl." Valerie whispered into the little girl's hair as she hugged Val tightly.

That was something else Val didn't understand. Danielle was supposed to be Danny's clone, but he seemed to hate any types of physical contact from anyone but Sam and Tuck. Even Jazz had to get permission first, or let him initiate physical contact.

Valerie blinked. Danielle also hasn't gone through everything Danny had. The bully was one thing Valerie knew of for sure. But with him being Phantom, Val knew he's been tortured more times than just today. Val felt tears spring to her eyes.

She has caused Danny some of his pain. She helped instill distrust into Danny's very being. The bullying, the torturing, she had been a part of them both. And then there was what happened to him at that concert! Valerie still felt there were things he had purposely left out when he had been rehashing the ghastly details.

Val sighed. Danny had been very affectionate with both Sam and Tucker when he had been intoxicated. So maybe he did crave physical affection just as much as his clone, but bottle it up because he was too afraid with anyone but Sam and Tuck.

Sam had always been called Danny's mental rock, his sanity and Valerie really never understood that until now. With everything that boy has gone through, he would need someone he could rely on completely. It seemed the universe chose to give him Sam.

Danielle pulled away and stared up at the sassy teen with an expression full of compassion and understanding.

"There isn't anything to be sorry for." Valerie rolled her eyes.

"You are _just_ like Danny. I don't even understand how I could have missed it before." Sam watched the two girls happily. She was starting to actually like Valerie and was glad she wasn't going to be a threat to her family.

"We're still friends, right?" Valerie scoffed.

"You know it gurl!" She exclaimed as she put Danielle down. Maddie suddenly broke in, a sickly-sweet smile adorned her lips. Danielle stepped back to Sam and Tucker fearfully. Her Danny had told her Maddie wasn't to be trusted.

"Hello sweetie." She hissed sweetly. She wasn't about to miss an opportunity to introduce herself to this clone.

"Hello, Mrs. Fenton." Danielle stated cautiously as she hid behind Sam and Tucker's legs, like a small child would hide behind her parents. Maddie stopped short as Sam and Tuck took up protective stances, glaring at her.

"You better watch it, Mrs. Fenton." Sam growled narrowing her eyes. She could sense trying to calm her down. She just hoped he stopped them in time before either she or Valerie attacked Maddie. She wouldn't really feel all that bad for attacking Mrs. Fenton. But she would feel bad about attacking Danny's mother, just for the fact she was his mother.

Maddie seemed to blatantly ignore Sam as she stared at the clone.

"How on earth do you know my name?" She asked curiously, not hint of malice in her voice. Danielle felt nervous.

"She knows your name, mother, because I've warned her about you." A steely voice cut through the silent crowd, sending shivers even down Sam and Tucker's spines.

* * *

**Yuck, it was so short! But I hope you guys still liked it and review! **

**~WildFireBurnsTheForest**


	7. Chapter 7

**__****_I'm back! I know several of you have been worrying that I've dropped this story or I've fallen off the face of the earth, but I swear I'm still here! School has been really kicking my but this year and I haven't been getting enough free time to concentrate on my writings. School first, story second, unfortunately. But slowly and surely, I've worked it out bit by bit, sometimes even only getting a few words down per day. To anyone who actually reads my Author's notes or my bio understand that I am usually a slow writer due to not having a lot of extra times. When I first posted this and continuously updated it, I was not in school so I had a lot more free time to focus on what I'm writing. Now that I'm back into school, my imagination and creative thoughts are starting to dry up and leave me scrambling to get a chapter good enough to post. _**

**__****_Now, in this chapter a few things are going to be explained about Danielle and the Trio, but you need to keep in mind, most of the scientific mumbo jumbo that I've written in here is exactly that- nonsense. It is nothing to be taken in the literal sense and I'm aware that most of it is not plausible. But neither are half-ghosts in the real word and that is why this sight is called Fanfiction. _**

**__****_All publicly_ recognizable characters, settings, lyrics, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plots are the intellectual property of the author(s). The author(s) is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended, nor should any be inferred. No profit is being made.**

* * *

Maddie jumped violently and looked every which way for where her son's voice came from. Sam and Tucker simply turned their bodies towards the king-sized bed. Everyone soon followed and was only mildly surprised to see that a large television screen seemingly appeared out of nowhere just above the headboard.

"Danny!" Danielle squealed merrily as she jumped into Sam's awaiting arms. Danny's steely blue eyes, which had been focused on burning holes into his mother's forehead, quickly flashed over to the younger Phantom and softened at the sight of Sam holding his little girl and her uncle standing close by. All that was missing was Jazz and a few others and his family would be complete.

"Hello sweetheart." Danny murmured softly, a loving undertone shining through as he stared at the little girl that meant so much to him. The video began to pan out as he shifted around revealing Danny was dressed in different clothing. His torso was now covered with a light green hoodie and he had changed from the dark wash to light blue jeans. His knees had been pulled up to his chest and revealed he had no shoes or socks covering his feet. His hair was now clean and his eyes were once again brightened with life. This was a side of Danny that neither Sam nor Tucker had had the privilege of seeing in quite a while. With all the stress and lack of sleep in Danny's life, it had begun to really take a toll on the older teen's body and mind.

"Are you okay, Danny?" Danielle begged worriedly, gripping tightly to Sam. Danny smiled down at the younger girl with patience and nodded easily.

"Of course I am, Darling." He had said it in a rather flippant demeanor that Sam and Tucker doubted was true. They understood he was masking his true pains and worries from Danielle in order to protect her, but it didn't stop him from actin like this all the time.

He rarely cared about his own health anymore. Danny was never one to complain about his woes, so they weren't surprised when he brushed any problems off or kept them to himself. Sometimes, however, the two wished Danny would understand it was okay to be vulnerable in front of them more often. They weren't going to judge him and they most certainly weren't going to use said vulnerabilities—or weakness as Danny thought of them—against him. Sam cleared her throat as she held onto Danielle, her lifeline to Danny.

"Is there something in particular you are calling about, Danny?" Sam asked swiftly. Even though Danny had, for some reason, kept the link between them at a minimum she could feel the tense vibrations bouncing off her halfa and down the link to her. The tense emotions pulsated up and down her spine causing her muscles to tighten as if she were the one experiencing whatever the cause was herself.

"Yep." He stated, popping the 'p'. A nervous habit of his. "We've come to something that could be akin to a breakthrough in cracking Polaris' notes on what she was working on." Tucker jolted in surprise.

He had been working on cracking the firewall for a while now and had only weakened it some. But then again he didn't have the ghostly ability to literally jump into the machine and roam through the files. But the firewall had literally been a wall of fire the last time Danny had tried to do so. Maybe Tuck had weakened it just enough for Danny to surpass said firewall?

"But." Danny continued. "It's heavily encrypted, Tucker. We need your extra special brand of skills to muddle through and figure out its meaning. Neither Frostbite nor I can make left or right of the formations." Tucker smirked hotly. While he knew he was probably the best hacker out there, it took time, patience, and a humble mindset to clear through and beat these encryptions.

Usually only people who knew the person who created said encryptions well could make it to the other side triumphant, but Tucker was definitely up for the challenge. He could practically feel his heart speed up as he looked forward to going up against the final piece of the intricate puzzle. It was up to his unique brand of hacking to bring home the last score so they can understand better why Polaris was killed, or at least they hoped so.

"Not a problem, bro." Tuck assured his pseudo brother with an excited glint shining in his aquamarine eyes. He was always eager to prove himself worthy in Team Phantom at any chance he got, and this time would be no exception.

While he knew Danny and the rest of their family believed him worthy of his position in the group and he, too, knew his talents helped he would always feel a bit inadequate. But he knew Danny never believed such ludicrous thoughts. Danny's heart of gold loved Tucker more than he could imagine and Tucker would joyfully admit to anyone who asked that he loved Danny back just as much. They may not have been blood, but the two boys were brothers for life.

Danny nodded, an affectionate and prideful smile directed at Tucker before he turned to Sam.

"We've also discovered something interesting within mine and Danielle's cells that you may wish to take a thorough look at." Sam nodded hastily. While all three of the original Team Phantom members excelled in the scientific fields, Danny was the one that pushed further and beyond the other two. Surprisingly enough, English and History were the subjects Sam was best at. Tucker obliterated any expectations people set for a teenager's understanding in mathematics. Sam still was pretty gifted in the scientifically department—especially genetics—and would love to help Danny decipher the cloning mystery.

She frowned, though, when the rest of the group—their peers and 'chaperones' for the trip—caught her eye.

"What about the rest of our group, Danny? We really should leave any of them unattended." Sam stated, glaring over at the woman who had birthed the youngest male halfa. The underlying tone in her words telling Danny she didn't like the idea of leaving Maddie without one—if not all—of the trio's supervision.

Maddie, oblivious to the angry looks, continued to dart her eyes back in forth between her son and Danielle. She was obviously stunned when faced directly with the similarities between the two young halfas. Danny scowled at the red haired woman before smoothing his expression to that of neutrality and nodding curtly.

"That's understandable." He muttered. "I suggest to just bring them along to Frostbite's lab. But please be sure to have one a guard escort you guys. He's relocated his lab after Walker's attack and I don't have the exact location for I had passed out soon after Frostbite flew off. Oh, and Danielle?" Said girl's head shot up to her father-figure, wide, innocent eyes betrayed by the twinkle of mirth burning in them. She had a feeling as to what Danny was about to address.

"What can I do for you, Danny?" She asked in a sickeningly sweet, bubble-gum, sugar-coated voice she had picked up from Sam's mocking imitation of Paulina. Each of the Trio members couldn't help the small twitch of amusement their lips gave way given the Latina was in the room with them, or at least with Danielle, Tucker, and Sam.

Danny made a mental note to begin watching what he said around the young girl a bit more. The last thing Danny wanted was for Danielle to adopt the cynical disposition he and Sam had too early. More than likely, the young halfa was already destined to form a darker outlook at the world due to all the battles and wars Team Phantom would go through in their lives, but he could still hope she would hold onto the youthful, innocent beliefs for as long as possible. For innocence is the only gift they were given in life. Danny's innocence had been shredded earlier on in life due to his parents' incessant obsession on finding these 'evil' ghostly creatures, the meltdown from his uncle, and the attack at the concert, but he did not wish for that to happen to Danielle.

"Walk with them please. No wondering off." His emphasization on the word 'walk' had garnered the confusion and interest of the occupants in the room, yet Danny had begun to lose interest in keeping the oblivious humans in the dark. He still wasn't too keen, though, on the idea of letting either Maddie or Jack in on his secret, lest they disown, dissect, or turn him into the Guys in White as they have in several different timelines.

It was shocking how in one timeline, the two oldest Fenton's could be so compassionate and accepting then be so cruel and vicious in another. Unfortunately every timeline where there was some reason to reveal his identity to Maddie and Jack—whether their reactions were good or bad—there was always some reason to have to change back, some death or problem that forced Danny and Clockwork to change back the hand of time and label under yet another failed timeline. Danielle grinned angelically up at the teenage male before nodded enthusiastically.

Danny consented that the rambunctious tween halfa would behave herself enough in Tuck and Sam's custody. Maybe he was being just a bit paranoid, but he has seen several different timelines in which Maddie has killed Danielle. He didn't really think he could be blamed for worrying about leaving his little angel alone with a woman he hasn't trusted in years, even long before the Ghost Portal accident.

He knew Sam and Tucker would try their bests to keep the girl safe—even if it meant sacrificing their lives—but he did not wish to see either of them have to do so. He also knew that neither would be able to live with themselves if something were to happen to Danielle when they were around and they hadn't been able to stop it. They've all been thrown into those situations too many times for Danny's comfort. Any time where Danny had to live out his worst fear of finding Danielle dead wasn't something Danny could handle easily. And in many cases the trio hadn't dealt with it properly, instead reverting to destruction and mass genocide as a solution to end their eternal pain of losing the girl. Thankfully Danny had Clockwork as his guardian and self-appointed godfather.

Danny narrowed his eyes in apprehension; speaking of fathers.

"Would I be able to have a private word with you once you get here, Dad?" Jack blinked as suddenly being addressed before nodding hastily. He already suspected Danny knew that Jack knew something about his secret, but maybe not how much he knew. Danny and Sam really must have that link. Jack was desirous to converse with his only son as soon as he could, but he was also nervous. How could the boy ever forgive him for attacking him repeatedly? Danny couldn't possibly be able to forgive him for how blind his father was. He understands that hindsight was 20-20, but it was ridiculous how oblivious he and Maddie had been to Danny suffering.

Maddie frowned in concentration. They were heading to a lab, something she had been completely unaware ghosts could be sophisticated enough to have. And while she had no clue as to the conditions said lab was in, she could only base her assumptions off the advance—for ghosts anyway—technology of the chambers and say it was a least up to par of a mediocre lab you may find in some high school classrooms. It couldn't be anything too fancy, definitely not as state-of-the-art as the Fenton's was. Then there was that strange look that had passed through her husband and their son. Something Danny and Jack shared that told her there was a more serious situation than a son simply requesting to talk with his father. This had been more a command for a conversation man-to-man, one equal to another. It frustrated her to no end that she wasn't included on whatever had passed between them.

"And please leave Cujo and Chasta in the Guest Chambers." Danny commanded, breaking through Maddie's musings. "Dora should be around shortly after you depart to retrieve them and send them to be cleaned for the ceremony." Sam and Tucker snickered. Cujo and Chasta were rather feisty creatures who did not play fair when it came to getting bathes. They guessed they were fortunate enough that Dora loved Danny enough have her servants suffer through the process of grooming the slippery fur balls. They were hardly compliant to even Sam and Danny—their masters!

"We'll be there within the next twenty minutes, Danny." Sam muttered softly. Danielle and Tucker both smiled up at Danny as he nodded, waved, and cut their connection. Sam took a calming breath as everyone member of the room faced her and Tucker, looking to them for what to do next. Neither she nor Tucker was meant to be the ones in charge, that was Danny. And yet here they were. They had to take command of thirteen of their peers, their teacher, and the parents of their best friend. They were so only sidekicks. How had they gotten dragged into being the ringleaders?

* * *

"Is it actually safe for us to go out there?" Dash tittered nervously. His eyes narrowed in apprehension, as if he expected one of the yeti-ghosts to pop out of nowhere and maim the poor boy. Though he didn't want to, Dash would have felt a lot safer if Danny was there with them. Even though this Danielle girl seemed to know what she was doing around here, along with Tuck and Sam, Danny looked to be the one to know the most.

He had naturally assumed the role of leader within the Trio and, before this trip, Dash would have scoffed at thinking Danny could lead anything anywhere. But now that he's seen what he's seen on this trip and experienced enough to know better, Dash was relying on Danny's level headed authority to lead them home to safety.

Danielle smirked savagely. She knew what this blonde-haired boy has done to her father over the years, for she had retained a few of Danny's memories during the cloning process. Danny hadn't been too comfortable to learn she had memories concerning the bullying he had been subjected to all his life. She understood he hadn't wanted to appear weak in front of her, but she actually took those bad memories and made good of them. Instead of it weakening Danielle's mental image of the hero her father was, it strengthened it.

He was human, just as everyone else but instead of letting the abuse get to him and destroy him, he turned it around and used it to benefit himself. He had gone through the bad things in life at an early age and he made the decision to live and let live, to forgive and forget. But that didn't mean she couldn't have a bit of fun for the boy with a flair for dramatics.

"I know it's safe for _me_ to go out. Same for Sam and Uncle Tuck, but I'm not too sure about you." She teased nonchalantly, reveling just a bit in the dread that filled the older boy's eyes. But in the end, she felt a bit of guilt. Danny wouldn't like for her to be teasing the people they were supposed to be helping. So Danielle quickly waved her hand in the air.

"Nah, I'm just joking with you guys." She muttered. "We're among allies here. These are benevolent ghosts who wish to help us, not harm us." Maddie didn't know how much she could trust that statement, or Danielle in general. She appeared to care for Danny and worry about his wellbeing, but she could have easily been faking it. For all she knew, Danielle could have been created here, and this was all a ploy to trap her and her husband deep within the Ghost Zone and kill them! She knew she couldn't trust any ghost! She tightened her hands into fists and cursed the warden ghost for taking away all her weapons.

"Danielle." Sam scolded softly after noticing no one seemed to be too reassured. "Don't tease them like that. You have to remember that they are ignorant to the truth about ghosts, only basing their 'science' off a lot of false theories and observations." Maddie's eyes hardened at Sam criticism. She was a scientist majored in the supernatural, not this insolent fifteen year old girl with an over-glorified crush on Maddie's son! She had dedicated her life to learning the truth about the evil creatures that the Trio had so carelessly ensnared a whole group of innocent students to. She was the one that would have to eventually figure a way out of here for her and everyone else after stupidly allowing her inadequate son and his two friends lead them probably to their dooms.

"Yes, ma'am." Danielle murmured bashfully. Jack was struck by just how much influence Sam seemed to have over the girl, how much Danny and Tucker had over the girl. At first, he was wondering if, maybe, Danny had adapted a sibling relationship with Danielle, but after seeing how he, and Sam, were with the younger clone, he knew. Danny looked to her as his daughter, his baby girl. Jack has seen, multiple times, that same look in his eyes when he was talking, thinking, or looking at Jazz, and in, for some odd reason, Vlad's eyes when he looked at Danny. Yes, he was aware of Vlad's desire to have Maddie and Danny, but he didn't think much of it. He just assumed Vlad desired a family of his own, and projected that love onto Maddie and Danny as substitutes.

And it looked to be Sam had taken over the role of mother for the little girl, provoking a small grin from the older man's lips. He always knew there was an even deeper connection between Danny and Sam, even if they vehemently denied it to anyone who teased them and called them lovebirds. Tucker could be a testament to the multiple times either Sam or Danny have hit him for calling them the aforementioned nickname. But the way they treated one another on this trip was completely out of this realm or maybe not. They seemed to be completely different people once they arrived in the Ghost Zone, as if more comfortable to be themselves in the foreign—to him at least—area.

He had never believed the trio had been _that_ close or that they had gone through _that_ much together. He was happy, though, that Danny had his friends to rely on. It must be hard having to constantly fight ghosts _as_ a ghost his parents hunt, go to school and, apparently, get bullied, and find a way to fight off the ghosts while in school and during his sleep. Jack felt so guilty. Looking back now, he knew how dead on his feet Danny looked all the time, but had just brushed it off to being irresponsible, when here he was being more responsible than any kid his age should ever have to be.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have worried you guys." Dash blinked, shocked at how Danielle sounded sincere in her apology, and ashamed at being so gently rebuked by the Goth teen. He had been a horrible child at this girl's age and no amount of fighting, arguing, and threatening from his mother had been able to make him behave.

She definitely was Danny for he had been just as behaved in school and with his parents as she seemed to be right now. Sure, he would mouth off sometimes, but he also genuinely looked horrified for saying it. At the time, Dash had just thought it was him being terrified at what would happen to him, but now he could see that he really did feel bad for offending whoever it might have been.

Some of the students were quick to reassure the kid that they were fine now, trusting she was telling the truth. Danielle seemed to perk up as she skipped over to her 'Uncle' Tuck, who automatically lifted the slight girl up into the air and placed her on his narrow hip, arms wrapped around her waist to keep her in place. Valerie couldn't help but find it adorable how easily Tucker fit into the role of an Uncle, or even second father, to the girl. Danielle rested her ear against his shoulder and faced towards the teens.

"We better head out soon. Danny sounded really stressed about their findings." Sam winced. Not only did he sound anxious, but he felt it too. The tension pouring from Danny intensified as different intervals, leaving Sam with an oncoming headache Danny was sure to feel guilty for causing later. He always hated when his emotions affected her strongly so he often tried his hardest to keep what he was feeling down to a minimum as not to bother her. She could only wish she could do the same. Sam was a rather emotional person and often did not have full control over them, leaving Danny with more headaches than he admitted to. She knew that, on top of all his own stresses and worries, the emotional rollercoaster he was often forced on frazzled his nerves and kept him from ever fully relaxing.

"He was probably nervous. It's the anniversary of Polaris' death and if we find something—anything – incriminating Frostbite's gonna have a cow. And if we can actually get any clues on _who_ she might have been working for on this secret project, Frostbite might try and attack them without any preparation or plan." Tucker explained while Danielle buried her face in the crook of his neck, all three were unusually somber. They had a good reason, too. If Frostbite attacked without knowing much about whomever they were dealing with, he may be sending his tribe into a mass suicide so instead of, fortunately, only losing _one_ life, they may end up losing so many more.

"Do you think he might send them into a blind war?" Danielle whimpered to the older teens worriedly. She didn't want to have to worry about going to war with anyone now that she's just finally settled down in the Far Frozen because there would be no doubt Danny would move her somewhere else if Frostbite and his people were going to fight. She hoped that if they did find something it would either be harmless, or Danny could talk the large furry ghost down from attacking. Her father figure was rather passive whenever he could be for he never actually liked to fight, it was just the role he had to take over once he found Maddie and Jack were not competent enough to protect the town.

"Unfortunately, I do think that'll happen if we aren't careful." Sam muttered as she made her way out the door, not paying much mind if the group was following her or not. Everyone was quick to shuffle out behind her, still a bit wary about being around so many ghosts. When they had been with Cujo or Princess Dora, it had been okay because it was just one or two ghosts and more humans. But now that they were _in_ a ghosts place, the rest of Lancer's group—minus Team Phantom—felt a bit of spooky vibes shooting at them.

Sam quickly found a guard post with two yeti's perched on either side, eyes scanning the halls for any chance of danger. Following Sam's lead, they strode over to the intimidating beasts. Sub Zero—or just Zero—and Ice, Sam recognized. They had been two of the yeti's they had gone scavenging for herbs with last time they had been here. She stood at a respectful space from them and smiled sweetly.

"Of frigid day, Sub Zero. Same to you, Ice." She greeted the fury beasts, using a Far Frozen phrase comfortably, letting the words roll off her tongue easily. Both guards bowed in deep respect to Sam, Tuck, and Danielle, fully aware of whose company they were.

"Frozen winds and biting chills, Lady Manson." Sub Zero replied to her greeting with a small grin, he always held some affection towards the fiery Goth. She was spicy and fresh and knew how to handle Great One better than anyone could dream of. It really was amazing to see how rambunctious the young halfa could act until he was needed to be serious. The mischievous side of Great One that had been rather evident in their first meeting hasn't come out to play for a while, Zero had realized with a sad twitch of the lips.

"Danny has requested our presence in Frostbite's new laboratory. We were ordered to find a guard that would be kind enough to escort us to said lab as none of know the location yet. Would one of you two mind helping us?" Sam asked in a semi-formal voice. While she was whole-heartedly against labels and social statuses, things like that were highly important for her, Tuck, and Danny to do to earn respect in the Ghost Zone. Tucker cleared his throat.

"With so much commotion today, I believe Danny just wants to make sure we don't get in anyone's way while they are preparing. You know having humans around here sometimes distracts the members from their duties." Tuck tacked on cryptically. Translation: they didn't want the members of the Far Frozen questioning why a group of humans were wondering around looking for their Chief. While all knew Tuck, Sam, and Danielle, not all were so welcoming of the full humans as Frostbite was and would jumped right to conclusions. Said conclusions would more than likely include treachery, conspiracies, impostors, spying, terrorism, and backstabbing, none of which were the truth.

Fortunately, Zero and Ice were rather observant and good a picking up hints, so they understood the underlying meaning easily and nodded. They were two strong supporters of Danny and his family and were always eager to help them whenever possible.

"I would be honored to escort Great One's family, along with their human entourage, to our fair and humble leader's laboratory." Ice announced grandly with yet another sweeping bow. Sam nodded gratefully.

"Thank you, Ice." Tucker responded. "And with hopes the ice stays frozen, Zero." He called to the remaining guard as Ice beckoned them to follow him to the lab. Zero was quick to bow respectively and reply.

"And to you, Lord Foley." While Sam, Tuck, and Danielle didn't really have any real superiority over the Far Frozen, because of certain rumors circulating around Danny, they were often considered royalty that trumped even Princess Dora and Queen Pandora's statuses.

When Danny defeated Pariah Dark, he received custody of the Ring of Rage, which was, as of now, being held by the Far Frozen along with Aragon's amulet. Several speculations flying around with the gossiping ghosts was that Danny had dethroned the former King of the Ghost Zone and was, technically, the new ruler. Some didn't believe it at all, arguing he wasn't a full ghost and therefore shouldn't have the right to rule over the whole ghost species. Others declared that even if he was to be King, he couldn't until he had the Crown of Fire— which Vlad had stolen in the beginning of the whole debacle— to go along with the Ring of Rage and could only be the Prince until said crown is rightfully returned. Then there were the last group, the ones like Frostbite, Dora, and Pandora, that completely backed Danny.

They would often declare; "Long live the King."

* * *

Everyone was hushed for a while as they continued their journey back to Danny. Each person, _human_, was too submerged in their own trains of thought to talk amongst one another. So much had been learned throughout this field trip and more and more pieces to the ultimate puzzle that the Trio was considered fell into each person's hands heavily. Yet, only Jack and Valerie had been the only two to actually be able to connect the dots and complete the puzzle. Though, no one really knew Jack knew anything, only guesses were made.

Maddie had been stewing in her own bat of confusion for quite a while now. Every time she seemed close to escaping and finally understanding what was going on, she would slip on something new and go tumbling back into the jumbled concoction. She had been outright bewildered by the amount of malice Danny continued to direct at her. The way his whole body had tense at seeing her, and then relaxed at the sight of Sam, Tuck, and Danielle had been heartbreaking yet, interesting in the female scientist's eyes. He, just like Sam and Tucker, had given Danielle affections nicknames and smiled so lovingly at her that Maddie probably would have melted had it not been directed at a clone.

And then he had become so defensive towards Maddie, his own mother, for even daring to talk to the mini-Danny. The sheer protectiveness he had showed over the girl was something real to contemplate.

It made Maddie wonder what exactly the Trio's emotional relationship with Danielle, and with each other, was. The way the girl held tightly to Tucker or Sam had showed quite a bit of dependency, attachment, and trust on her part. Then there was the way Danny's two friends held her in return showed that they, too, were attached to her. It worried Maddie how Danielle had referenced Tucker as her uncle, but continued to call Sam and Danny by their names, though she reacted to the two like she was their child.

Sam had scolded Danielle softly, but firmly, telling Maddie that Sam knew exactly how to treat a child in minute trouble. This solidified Maddie's assumption that Sam and Danny, on some fundamental level, considered that girl their daughter and treated her accordingly. Maddie frowned. It didn't exactly surprise her that it would be Sam, who has been in love with Danny for more years than Maddie could accurately recall, would extend her unconditional love for Danny to Danielle.

If there was one person in this world that would readily and fully accept a clone of the man she loved, it would be Sam. Maddie couldn't think of anyone else that could love someone else's clone as if it were their own child as easily—or if at all—like Sam. She didn't think that, if she were to be put in such a peculiar predicament with Jack, she would be able to do it.

And if Danny and Tucker still considered one another as brothers, then it would only make sense for any daughter-figure of Danny's to consider any brother-figure of Danny's their uncle-figure. Whoa, that could be easily confusing.

She couldn't say she was too comfortable with the idea that her barely fifteen year old son already had a ten year old daughter, or the equivalent of. Actually, she wasn't comfortable at all with such a concept. She was way too young to be a grandmother and Danny was definitely too young, irresponsible, and immature to actually have a daughter. She's seen his grades, and how he acts. Those weren't really class-A father material qualities.

"So how has the air been on your side of the iceberg, Lady Manson?" Ice's question broke through the humans' musings. Star wanted to know why this furry ghost continued to call Sam Lady Manson. Kwan just wanted to know what on earth—err, what in the Ghost Zone?— Ice meant about the air and the iceberg. Just like how Sam and the yeti's greeted one anther; weird.

Sam scowled at the reminder of her life back on Earth.

"Same old, same old," She muttered out. "My parents are trying to kiss-up to my dying grandmother right now." Tucker side-glanced at his only female best friend. Pamela and Jeremy had been home more often than ever due to the bad health of the current holder over the Manson's family fortune, Sam's grandmother, Nana Leila. They have been trying their hardest to get into Leila's good graces ever since the eldest Manson's health began declining. Sam, Tucker, Danny, and Leila had not been amused in the least of the duo's actions in the beginning and they still weren't thrilled by it now, close to the end.

Tuck and Sam did find it amusing, however, that Danny was oblivious to the fact that he was one of the main benefactors in Leila's will; right after Sam and just before Tucker. They would be receiving full ownership over the Manson Mansion and will be the ones in control of Manson Co. once they reach of age. Both Pamela and Jeremy were in the absolute dark that they were not in the will at all.

It was sad how the adults both believed they were going to receive full control of the fortune, even though they've already been leeching off Sam's inheritance for years. Neither Jeremy nor Pamela has ever worked an honest days' work in their lives; something that had angered Samantha Manson to no end.

"Such a shame." Ice muttered in full sympathy. Most of the tribe knew of the struggles the trio constantly dealt with concerning Sam and Danny's parents, and all wished they could help them out somehow. Frostbite had even gone as far to actually offering them a permanent residence in the Far Frozen tribe. Unfortunately, Danny was far too loyal to the town of people that hated either one half, the other, or both.

It saddened most of the tribe that their hero suffered so much throughout his rather young life.

"We're dealing with it, as usual. It'll be interesting to see Pamela and Jeremy's reactions to finding out that they've been completely banned from the Manson's family fortune unless it they have mine, Tuck's, _and_ Danny's approval." Paulina nearly tripped over thin air when she heard that. Star, being the unlucky girl she is, actually _did_ fall, landing right into Sarah, who had stopped walking in shock, causing the two girls to fall to the icy-cold ground in a heap of arms and legs.

Sam barely paid them any external attention, aware that they had just figured it out that she was as rich, if not richer, than them. She understood that they were all now trying to change how they treated her and her friends, so she felt a bit more comfortable sharing the secret that she was wealthy. She wasn't surprised none of them had known. She wasn't frivolous or impractical with her money like the other a-listers were so it wasn't much of a shock that none of them had put Pamela and Jeremy Manson together with low-life, Gothic freak Sam Manson.

But she knew who her real friends were and felt it would be more than okay for more people to know her 'secret'.

"Of course, most of the more liquid funds will be frozen until we are of age and a temporary figure head will be appointed as the CEO of Manson Co., but once Danny turns 18, the company and fortune falls to him, then half of it falls to me, then it is split into thirds once Tucker finally turns eighteen. We've been pretty much already running the company ourselves for quite a while now, so it won't be much of change once she, once she dies." Tucker swallowed bitterly at the end. None of them wanted to think about Nana Leila dying. She had become a grandmother to both boys as well and the thought of her no longer being there with them crushed their very hearts.

"You know, I think she's been planning for us to take over the company for quite some time now." Sam commented, directing the conversation away from any thoughts of her Nana dying. That was something Sam never really wanted to think about. She was just glad she never received the memories of failed timelines of anyone dying like Danny did.

They were silent for a moment as if in deep thought when Sam finally spoke back up.

"Pamela will probably have a stroke." She decided matter-of-factly causing both Danielle and Tucker to crack up. While Danielle never has, and probably never will, meet Pamela or Jeremy, she had some very vague memories of Danny's from them, and she could tell you right then she did not like Pamela at all.

Lancer took note that it Sam seemed to refer to her mother by her actual name. It seemed both Sam and Danny had several issues with their parents and the middle-aged English teacher had to wonder if these issues also extended to Tucker and the Foley family. Could it be possible that all three teens came from troubled households? He never really did think about how the Trio _became_ the Trio, they've just always been in his mind. There had to be a time before Sam and Tucker for Danny, for he did at least know that the two had moved to Amity Park some time during their elementary years.

"I would _definitely_ pay to see that." Tucker choked out, readjusting his hold on his little neice. Sam gave Tucker a conspiratorial grin, sending shivers down the A-list members' spines. They've been on the receiving end of that grin and _all_ knew that it mean trouble. Though, they had a feeling this 'Pamela' woman deserved what seemed to be deserving of whatever 'punishment' she would surely meet under Sam's influence.

"Yes, your mother seems to be a rather opinionated and dense human." Ice muttered out, staring down at the young Gothica. Sam gave a pointed look back at Maddie before nodding in agreement. It seemed there was even more in common between the two teens' others. It wasn't that they had ever actually sat down and listed everything that the two women had in common, but Sam was wondering if one day they should, just so they knew.

It was a miracle that Tucker's parents were so totally awesome at being parents, otherwise Sam and Danny would have, more than likely, lost complete faith and trust in any adult figures in their lives. Other than Mr. and Mrs. Foley, whom both teens considered second parents, the only other adults they trusted were Sam's Nana Leila—who they all saw as and called Nana Leila—and Neil.

"You honestly have no idea how bad she is." Sam ground out, choosing to end the conversation after that. She didn't really feel like talking anymore about her problems, they always just put her in a bad mood and she didn't want to be like that around Danielle. This left the group to their thoughts once again, as no one else knew what to say to break the stifling silence.

Paulina's head was still reeling from finding out Sam was actually rich. She surely didn't act like she was! Always seemed to be wearing cheaply made dark clothes, walking to school every day with her two boys instead of riding in the limo or something, and she had never used her wealth to get out of trouble like the A-lister's have.

But, Sam wasn't Paulina, so she guessed she shouldn't be _too_ surprised that she never knew. Sam valued hard work and independency, whereas Paulina would fully admit she was shallow and always allowed—_forced_—everyone to do everything for her. She preferred it that way, for she's never known, nor wanted to know, anything else.

Sarah blinked in surprise as Paulina unwillingly made a small, squeaky-like noise in the back of her throat as she contemplated everything she'd learned. She guessed Paulina was still trying to digest that her number one target was rich. While everyone knew, on some level, that Paulina had originally picked on Sam only due to her rejecting her friendship and instead becoming inseparable with Danny. Their feud hadn't even been about money like most of the friendships and enemies in Amity Park were built upon, even back in elementary school. It had been made even worse when it became apparent that Sam the one thing Paulina wanted but couldn't ever have and still wanted—Danny.

Paulina wasn't as secretive as Sarah pretended to believe she was, she just didn't feel it was her place to expose her 'friend's' secrets. She had long since figured out how much Paulina really wanted the raven-haired boy. But, not only did Sam have too strong of a hold on the boy's significantly large heart for Paulina to actually get close to him, Paulina herself was far too much of a coward to break from the social quota to go after what her heart wanted. Even when Danny had been gawking nonstop at Paulina at the beginning of the year, anyone with half a brain knew no one would be able to get Sam and Danny away from one another, just as Sam and Tucker and Danny and Tucker were too close to separate.

The Trio came as a packaged deal to anyone brave enough to wish to date on of the members of the close-knit group. Valerie had learned that the hard way. At least, that's want everyone believes to be why they broke up. No one but the Trio and Valerie knew the exact reason Valerie broke things off with Danny, and they had all been extremely tight-lipped about the whole ordeal.

"So has Danielle been behaving herself when we aren't here?" Tucker asked suddenly, pulling everyone to attention once again. Danielle just sighed in defeat and laid her head on her Uncle's shoulder. She had a feeling each member was going to ask around if she'd been well behaved if Sam and Danny haven't already. It was annoying that they had been worried she _wouldn't_ be good, but she also had a feeling that it was their way of asking how she was doing without outright asking and that did make her heart warm up a bit. She knew she was lucky to have the Trio and she thanked whatever higher entity was allegedly out there every day that she had them.

Ice chuckled gaily While he felt badly for how Danielle came to be in the universe, she was definitely one lucky little girl with the amount of love and support the Trio provides for her. She would never have to worry about now having a place in each of their hearts and they made sure to remind her of that regularly.

"She is positively wonderful to have around." Ice exclaimed honestly. "She's a terrific helper and always the first one to offer a hand." He praised, causing Danielle to blush a bright, scarlet red. It seemed she had also adopted Danny's annoying modesty.

"Oh, my frost!" The young clone cried out in embarrassing, using one of the far frozen phrases, akin to someone calling out 'Oh, my God!'. Ice ignored her exclamation completely, continuing to boast about the youngest halfa.

"Her aim is almost on par with Great One's, just a bit to the left, and she's become one of our best hunters yet. Even Great One himself isn't as skilled as she is at the hunt." Sam grinned proudly over at the self-conscious girl. Sure, she wasn't all about Danielle hunting and killing innocent animals—ghostly or not—but she wasn't going to press her own beliefs upon the impressionable girl. As long as she wasn't killing for pure pleasure, then Sam would refrain from trying to deter the small halfa from hunting. She didn't want Danielle to feel that something she was good at was wrong for her to do.

"That's wonderful!" Tucker uttered happily as they turned down yet another corner. He was so proud that Danielle was fitting in well here. They had been quite weary about leaving her alone in the tribe at first, worried that the ghosts who weren't so accepting of the human's intruding would bother the young girl, but she seemed to have proved herself a worthy member throughout the clan and Tucker couldn't be happier for her.

"Lancer couldn't help the small smile as he watched two of his favorite students. They looked so proud of Danielle and so much more mature than he's ever seen them. It was like the responsibility of Danielle changed their dispositions without them even noticing. With a strong realization, Lancer inhaled deeply, trying to still his rapid heartbeat. The Trio really was mentally older than their peers, than any kid their age. They have gone through more troubles and pains than Lancer could hope to comprehend. They kept their hearts locked tight for no one to see but one another and hid their true selves from the rest of the town in order to protect themselves. They'd learned earlier on that they could only come to trust few and depend on fewer. How much did Lancer—or anyone for that matter—really know about the trio? Lancer would say not much at all.

Gillian's lips twitched in sad amusement as he watched the two teens and ghosts tease Danielle. He was taking several mental notes on what everyone said and did during this mess of a trip. Sure, he may not wish to ever harm Danny or his friends again, that didn't stop Gillian's insane curiosity as to who Danny Fenton really was. He just hoped he would receive the privilege of learning it one day. In the meantime, he would be trying to learn as much as he could on the Trio in hopes of figuring it out himself.

Kwan was feeling the same way. While he knew that he had a lot of making up to do with the Trio, he really wanted in on whatever the huge secret was. He may not be the smartest kid in the class, but even he could sense that there was something much larger happening behind the scenes.

Lana and Jake were holding each other's hands tightly. Danny was on their minds as well. Guilt and wonder ran through their minds as they thought about the past. What could have become of their lives if they hadn't kicked the trio to the curb? But Lana and Jake had been young; selfishly immature and too stubborn to go back to them all those years ago.

"I shall leave you here, Lord Foley, Lady Manson, Lady Fenton, and entourage. Just through these doors is the new laboratory of our great and noble leader." Ice announced grandly before bowing to the group and turning to depart.

"We'll see you later at the banquet!" Tucker called out to Ice's back. The ghost turned and nodded in confirmation, a large grin that looked like a snarl plastered on his face. Man, those fangs looked really intimidating to the humans.

"I'll be the one manning the attendance list!" Sam smiled sweetly as Ice then turned the corner and disappeared.

* * *

Sam then eased the door opened to reveal a large lab filled with electronics machines most of the group were hopeless at naming. All eyes fell on Danny, who was lounging in a really big computer chair as he peered into one of several microscopes he had scattered on the work table. His right eye was looking in the eyepiece while his left hand was busy scribbling whatever he was finding in his small, sloppy, cursive handwriting.

Sam cleared her throat loudly, garnering the halfa's attention. Danny, ignoring the rest of the group, kicked the computer chair over to them before grabbing Sam and placing her on his lap. He then pulled Tucker—and by extension, Danielle— next to him on the large chair before wheeling them all back over to the table. None seemed bothered by Danny's man-handling them in the least. They must have been used to Danny being a bit grabby with them.

"Okay, explain please." Tucker requested as Danny sat refocusing the microscope.

"We were able to successfully separate her two sides and kept her gh- err, let's call it her P side. Anyway we got it stabilized one of the cells from her P side by injecting some ectoplasma around it, creating a barrier." Danny explained as each of his friends took a glance at the two cells standing side by side. One was of Dani's 'Fenton' DNA and the other was her 'Phantom' side.

"Okay, but what have you learned that we had to see? I highly doubt you called us down here because you got Danielle's P DNA as stable as her F DNA" Danny blinked at Tucker before pulling another microscope over to them.

"These are my DNA's." He stated. Both Sam and Tucker looked while Danielle was content with crawling into Sam's lap and resting her ear against Danny's chest, listening to his solid heart-beat.

Nothing soothed her more than being surrounded by her Sam, uncle, and being held by her Danny.

Uncaring for whomever else was in the room, Danny pecked the top of his daughter's hair and wrapped and arm around Danielle, the other wrapping around Sam's waist. Both Tuck and Sam leaned into Danny, confusion painting their faces.

"But how is that possible?" Tucker murmured. Danny sighed.

"I have a theory, but you're needed over with Frostbite while Sam and I work on my theory." Tuck hesitated before nodding, patting Danny's shoulder, and heading over to Frostbite. Sam and Danny were more scientific than he was, they'd fair just fine without him. Plus, his skills were needed and he was bound and determined to finally crack Polaris' intricate firewalls and codes.

Danny turned to his class and parents with a frown. They were just standing around aimlessly, staring at him as if he had grown three extra heads.

"You guys can go sit down as long as you promise not to touch anything. Several of these chemicals are highly combustible and I'd really like to get the rest of you out of here fully alive." His peers nodded nervously as Sam and Tuck held back snickers at Danny's awful pun. Both Jack and Lancer conceded quickly. As much as Jack would have loved to explore, he was going to respect Danny's orders. Jack was prone to accidents after all.

Maddie was harder to control, but once Danny threatened to lock her in one of their holding chambers until tomorrow she reluctantly complied, taking up listening closely to Danny and taking mental notes of anything and everything he said and did.

When Sam began deciphering Danny's notes—which ranged from Latin, Esperanto, and English—Danny focused on Danielle.

"How have you been behaving?" Danielle simply gave him thumbs up.

"And your studies?" Danielle's eyes lit up brightly, reminding Lancer of how Danny used to be when he would come into class. He had been so ready to learn, to soak up everything Lancer had to offer. He had quickly become Lancer's favorite student, seemingly happy and always interested in whatever Lancer was lecturing about; always had good grades.

But then the accident happened and the ghosts showed up and Danny's grades plummeted. While Lancer could understand why Danny wanted to fight ghosts, he really should understand that his grades were more important and that Danny Phantom, his parents and the red huntress could easily take care of the ghost problems.

Why didn't Lancer feel as confident as he should?

"Pandora and Clockwork have been teaching me History, Johnny has been working with me on mechanics. Kitty's been teaching me more combat and several members of the Far Frozen are teaching me English, Grammar, Esperanto, and First Aid." Danny nodded along. Lancer bit his lip. Danielle seemed like a kid that would be eager to actually go to school and learn, but doesn't have that chance with her being Danny's clone and not an 'actual' person. Lancer wondered how she would fair in one of his classes.

"And Frostbite even offered to teach me science!" Danielle exclaimed excitedly. Danny eyed the ghost-yeti warily as Sam and Tuck stilled long enough to stare at the three ghosts in amusement. Frostbite chuckled.

"Is that so?" Danielle frowned.

"What's wrong with him teaching me science?" She asked innocently. Danny just eyed Frostbite.

"Well, seeing as our first lesson was on how to create a bomb with practically anything…" Frostbite busted out in laughter.

"It's not like it hasn't come in handy." Tucker pointed out. Danny looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging.

"I guess as long as he doesn't teach you how to split an atom or attack someone on the molecular level without leaving a trail." Sam smirked at Danny. She liked that Danny knew how to do that. Now if only she could convince him to use against their parents just enough to make them a bit sick… But alas Danny's hero complex kept him from messing with anyone but Tucker.

"So what you're telling me is not to teach her anything you and I have been working on in the past few months?" Frostbite asked nonchalantly, humor evident in his voice. Maddie started. Her son was just using those as outlandish examples, so why did Frostbite act like he was actually teaching Danny these things? Ghosts weren't even smart enough to know things like that and Danny couldn't be that smart.

Lancer knew science was Danny's best subject, but this was just going too far out there.

Danny laughed as he pulled his fingers through Danielle's glossy black locks. She had forgone the ponytail for the time being so her Danny could play with it. She loved the feeling and Danny knew just how not to knot her hair up more. She had an inkling Danny has had a lot of practice on her Sam and Aunt Jazz.

"Exactly, Frostbite, I don't think a ten year old girl needs to know the basis of a nitrogen bomb either." Danielle huffed.

"But what if Plasmius, Walker, Skulker, or any of our other enemies capture me? I should know how to get out if I'm limited." She whined. Danny sighed dejectedly.

"You'll have me to protect you now. No more are you going to be on you own. You've got Sam, Tuck, Far Frozen, Dora, Kitty, Johnny, Clockwork, Pandora, Box Ghost, Lunch Lady all looking out for you as well. And even the Red Huntress." Jack seemed to be the only one to catch the meaningful look shared between Danny and Valerie.

"And we won't have to worry about Walker anymore." Tucker reminded them. Danny nodded as Frostbite's head shot up.

"Oh?" Danny nodded happily.

"I've got something over him. I'm no longer a fugitive and you're no longer being tried for aiding and abetting a convict. Wulf is free and so are the rest of my allies." Frostbite grinned.

"It should not shock me in the least that you were able to keep your promise and somehow manage to free us." Danny shrugged.

"I gave you my word and us Ph—err I've always kept my word." Danny winced at his slip-up before turning back to just snuggling to Sam and Danielle. Silence consumed the room, the only noises being the click-clacking of Tucker and Frostbite's fingers on the keyboards.

* * *

"Okay, so somehow he mutated it." Sam finally ground out in frustration.

"Your F sides are identical while your P sides are only slightly different. Danny nodded as he leaned back. Sam and Danielle had moved around so Danielle was sitting next to him and Sam was using him as a seat to look into the microscopes and read his notes.

Maddie really hated to admit it, but they honestly looked like a real family. Had it been eleven years in the future, she could see Sam and Danny having a little girl with Danny's blue eyes and Sam's black hair. But it wasn't eleven years in the future. They were only fifteen and yet, they didn't seem to care about age; just Danielle.

"On Danielle's P cell, she had a morphed daughter cell resulting in the extra X-chromosome." Danny muttered. Lancer blinked, when did Danny learn about genetics and how to identify things like that? Sam sighed.

"She doesn't even have a trace of a Y-chromosome in her system!" Danny wilted, glaring at the slides angrily. He hated that they didn't know. He felt the answer was just as transparent as his Phantom/Fenton personality secret was.

"How could she have the two X-chromosomes when you wouldn't? He would have had to get an extra chromosome from someone else then, but we've already established that she's one hundred percent you." Sam moaned, crossing her arms and leaning back against Danny. Just as the two girls got comfortable, Danny gasped and shot up. Both girls would have gone tumbling had he not grabbed ahold of them.

Once he placed them on the ground, he reached over and pulled out a clean syringe, rolled up his sleeve and began drawing his own blood. Jack scrutinized the blood for any signs of ectoplasma. He realized earlier on that Danny and Danielle's P and F DNA's were their Phantom and Fenton sides. But no matter how hard he checked, he couldn't see any.

Most people were much too focused on the scars that were revealed as he drew his blood. Were these scars from ghost hunting, the bullying, or… could these scars have been self-inflicted? That last thought was sobering. Danny had gone through so much in his life and a lot weaker people might have cracked under the stress, but did that mean Danny—strong-willed Danny—had?

Maddie watched as Danny filed a vile with his blood before setting it into a machine.

"Mom, dad." He started, turning to the silent group. Jack cleared his throat.

"Yeah, son?" Danny scowled at the name, but continued.

"I can remember going to the doctor's a lot when I was little. They were always injecting stuff in my system, what was it?" Maddie bit her lip as Jack answered.

"Testosterone." Jack muttered. Danny closed his eyes, a looked of concentration adorned his features.

"Was I diagnosed with Klinefelter's Syndrome and that was why I had to get added testosterone?" Maddie nodded while Sam gasped.

"I remember that!" She muttered. "Uncle Neil and Maddie would get into yelling fits about injecting you prepubescent." Danny blinked and side-glanced at Sam, his fingers stilling over the buttons.

"What?" She snapped, feeling surprise and amusement running down the link towards her.

"You called him Uncle Neil." Sam flushed and shrugged.

"Maybe I'm finally starting to forgive him." Danny nodded before turning back to the matter at hand.

"But the treatments worked!" Maddie exclaimed. Danny bit his lip.

"I only think they worked so much." Sam scowled.

"If Danny had to go through all that pain for no reason, I'm hunting down whatever doctor thought it would be good to give a child testosterone treatments and I'm getting his medical license revoked." Sam hissed.

"Pain?" Lancer asked hesitantly. Danny stared at the ground. He didn't really like to admit that he had been tortured by the testosterone running through his veins.

"My body had reacted to the treatments violently." Danny mumbled. "My body often felt like I was being burned from the inside out." Maddie flinched. She hadn't known her son had been in pain from the treatments. Her younger brother's protests suddenly sounded much more logical.

Danielle stayed quiet as Danny spoke of a painful experience. It was rare the older halfa ever admitted to having been in actual pain, unless he was whining pathetically at Sam when she would put a Band-Aid on cuts no bigger than the size of a paper-cut. But that was just Danny being Danny.

"But if my theory is correct…" He muttered to himself as he pressed a few buttons on the machine, resulting in a small glass rectangle popping out on a tray.

Danny quickly grabbed it before fiddling around with it more until a semi-loud buzzing filled the room. Danny ignored the noises as he looked at the red sample in the glass.

Maddie realized it was a sample of his blood.

"I still have two X-chromosomes, so Vlad could have taken each—"." Maddie interrupted him;

"Vlad?"

"Plasmius." Danny offered. When met with blank stares he sighed.

"And here they are supposed to be the expert ghost hunters." Sam muttered to Danielle. Danny shot her a warning look before clearing his throat.

"You guys so ignorantly have labeled him the Wisconsin Ghost." Jack nodded sheepishly, they did have a bad habit of naming the ghosts whatever they wanted to, even if said ghosts have informed them of their actual names. Take Danny for example. They had continuously called him Inviso-bill instead of Danny Phantom even after multiple times he tried to tell them differently.

"Yeah, his name is Vlad Plasmius." Maddie piped down with a nod. For some reason, she thought it might have been Vlad Masters, but how stupid was that? Sure, he had expressed his desire to have both Danny and Maddie as his on several different occasions and he was a bit of a creep, but that didn't mean he was so wacked as to clone Danny, right?

"Anyway?" Sam said impatiently as she looked at the cells Danny had situated under another microscope. Danny muttered something under his breath before pressing something on the machine and the buzzing increased. Tucker groaned.

"I can't wait until we have our lab back and I have my soundproof stall, these noises are driving me loopy!" Danny shrugged.

"Sorry man." He muttered as he pulled a full sample of Danielle's DNA and switched out one of the microscope samples with it. He loved how high tech these microscopes were thanks to Tucker. Seriously, they could see chromosomes with simple microscopes.

"So what's you theory." Sam asked again. Danny turned and pointed to his and Danielle's samples.

"We have identical X-chromosomes. Both of them." Sam's eyes widened as she looked back and forth between the microscopes.

"So he combined your two X-chromosomes, as if forming a zygote?" Sam frowned. "But that's the beginning of an embryo." Her eyes widened. "That would be akin to—" Danny nodded, finishing the sentence for her.

"In Vitro Fertilism." Danielle looked back and forth between the two teens, like a child would when trying to listen to both of their parents' conversation.

"But how would he—"

"Um, guys? I think you might want to come and see this!" Tucker's alarmed voice drew the attention of everyone in the room as his fingers flew across the keyboard.

They zoomed over to Tucker in record speed. Danny looked at the screen.

"It's still encrypted, Tuck." Sam deadpanned. Tuck sighed and pressed a key, causing the whole screen to flash before the words, numbers, and symbols morphed into sentences, pictures, and paragraphs of paragraphs of research.

"She was working on creating halfas without a portal accident!" Danny hissed, eyes wide with amazement at her thorough experiments.

"Plasmius recruited her under the pretense that he just wanted a kid." Sam growled.

"Are you telling me she was a traitor?" Frostbite whimpered sagely. Danny seemed conflicted.

"I don't think so." Tuck exclaimed, pointing at the note box.

"Says she was worried Plasmius didn't just want a son, but quite possibly an army of sorts." Sam growled angrily as Tuck finished reading the note to them.

"She was planning on coming to you to tell you about it. That note was made the same day as the attack." Tucker continued.

"So she was more-or-less coerced into telling Vlad how to split a halfa's halves to create a child not a clone." Danny muttered.

"But she didn't finish the experiment, saying that the two sides would attack each other and the clone would melt. Says there was something missing to keep the halves in balance." Sam informed them.

"Mid-morph DNA would be my guess." Danielle muttered hesitantly. Danny nodded.

"But his is too weak to stabilize the clones so he would have needed my—er Phantom's." Jack started at Danny's slip. How was it that he was able to keep his secret for so long when he made slips like that constantly?

"So, do you know how…" Dani fumbled over her words, but Danny understood and smiled down at her awkwardly.

"Um, yeah. He, uh, took my F DNA and split it from my P DNA because mine is strong and stable enough to survive separately. He then created sperm with my F DNA before creating a viable egg-like capsule using my P DNA because it much more flexible. He then would have had to mutate my cells in order to fertilize both the egg and the sperm so it killed off the Y-chromosome resulting in you." Danielle's eyes lit up. Hope she was almost scared to feel showed through.

"Does that mean…?" Danny nodded and held the girl tightly.

"I told you you're my little girl." He whispered quietly into the tear-eyes girl's hair.

Maddie gasped at Danny's ludicrous statement while Lancer sat there impressed. Seems Danny really was smarter than he believed. But what could be holding the boy back from showing his intelligence in school?

Gah! So many clues, so many hints, but nothing concrete! There was more to Danny's secret than ghost hunting, though Lancer felt that secret was an important clue to the much larger secret that the young enigma kept close to him.

Paulina felt proud she had guessed right. Danny did treat Danielle like his daughter. Now it was confirmed that she was more-or-less his actual daughter, Paulina felt there would nothing that Danny wouldn't do for that little girl, had there actually been any reservation beforehand.

Sam smiled happily as her two favorite halfas hugged each other tightly. Her heart constricted painfully as she noticed Maddie's vicious glare that was directed at Danny and Danielle. Sam narrowed her amethyst eyes at the woman, at Danny's egg-donor.

That was all Maddie Fenton was anymore to Danny. She had been negligent, ignorant, and horrible to her son most of his life, and Sam was ready to 'steal' her best friends away from the woman. Neither Tuck nor Sam wanted Maddie anywhere near their Phantom's but they were scared they wouldn't be able to protect them from the Wicked Witch of the West'. Sam wanted to punch something—preferably Maddie—at the thought of not being there to save her family.

Maddie and Pamela both believed they were on opposite ends of the spectrum, but they couldn't be more wrong. They were sitting right next to each other at the bottom of the barrel. Both were horribly selfish parents that didn't deserve the children they were given.

Dash watched in confusion as Danny held tight to the young girl. He wasn't confused that Danny had—in essence—a daughter or that Danny seemed to really love the little girl. He was confused why he felt something in his chest constrict and felt as if his stomach was being stretched opened, making breathing unbearable.

What was the meaning behind this? He had never before felt so physically and mentally impaired before. Dash didn't understand why his body was shaking so much.

* * *

**_Did you like it? Was it good? I hope so!_**

**_Comments, questions, concerns? Review! Love to hear from my readers even if I cannot reply back to you guys! PM's are greatly accepted, too, and I've been meaning to get back to you few that_ have_ sent me PM's. Just please be patient with me! _**

**_The next chapter will be, hopefully, posted within the next few weeks, I already have an idea of what's happening in it, but I'm stuck at a fork in the road on how I'm going to approach one idea. Make it simple and keep more readers, or create a complex twist in the story that'll more than likely lose several of my fans. We'll have to wait and see what happens!_**

**_~WildFireBurnsTheForest_**


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